Many athletes believe that their muscles or discipline should be the main focus. While those things are essential, all the key processes begin in our brain. This is why we should understand the way our brainpower can aid or sabotage us.

First thing you should realize is that your brain is less like a unified command center and more like a dysfunctional committee. Your brain runs on three key systems: the Chimp, the Professor, and the Computer. Basically, it’s a constant battleground between the instinct-driven limbic system and the logical frontal cortex.

The Chimp (or the lizard brain) is emotional and impulsive because it’s conditioned to react to threats. It evolved to keep you alive in a world full of predators, but it hasn’t gotten the memo that you no longer live in one. So when you line up at a race, and your stomach drops, your Chimp is treating a local 10K like a saber-toothed tiger. It processes sensory information five times faster than the rational mind, urging you to act.

Your rational mind, the Professor, is the opposite. The frontal cortex focuses on facts and reason. It’s the part that says “it’s just a race” while your Chimp is screaming that you’re about to die. The Professor is wise, but it’s slow. Then there’s the Computer, which works like your operating system. It runs automatic programs built from your experiences and memories. When the Computer stores memories loaded with emotional charge, it can reinforce negative thinking that sabotages performance.

Try asking yourself, “Do I want to think or feel like this?” If the answer is “no,” your Chimp has taken the wheel. If the answer is “yes,” your Professor is in charge. Research suggests that many people spend up to 95 percent of their day wishing they felt or thought differently. In other words, most of us have a chronic Chimp problem, and we don’t even know it.

The brain thrives on routine, and habits form through repetition. The Computer brain operates faster than conscious thought and runs on autopilot. The good news is that the Computer is rewritable. You can update it through repeated intentional experience. Every time you complete a hard session you were dreading, you’re installing new code.