Managing Your Crazy Self!: Turning your Turbulence into Tranquility

By Randy Guttenberger

(Second Edition)
An intriguing, easy-to-read guide on how to manage your thoughts and emotions to gain peace within.

This new understanding portrays how your instinctive brain functions through the Ostrich and your conscious mind through the Rhino. The end result connects quickly with the reader, makes you smile, brings healing, and is quite powerful.

Once you understand these insights, you will never look at life the same way again!

 

What drives you crazy? Is there something that just sets you off consistently? Is your mind incapable of shutting off all the mental chaotic chatter and stirring emotions? Why is that? What is the root source of your mind coming up with the things it does? Well, you are about to find out—and discover a great deal more.

This book is designed to give you insights, in a bit of a humorous way, into how the brain is wired and explores how you can manage the constantly working instinctive brain, which is your greatest challenge. A close friend pointed out to me that most people don't really want to know how the house is wired—they just want the light to come on when they flip the switch. He may be right. The problem, of course, comes when you flip the switch, and the light doesn't come on! Well, let's see, is the problem the bulb? The switch? The circuit breaker? Or, is there no power at all? Who is supposed to fix this? Life has moments like a nonworking light bulb with its petty annoyances, and its major setbacks and disappointments. We all have things to overcome. No one comes through unscathed. Most importantly, who is going to fix me when my light doesn't come on?

 

Think about it. No one's life turns out like they thought it would. Have things not worked out quite the way you wanted in your life? When you don't repair how the mind captures pain and disappointment, you live with unhealthy thoughts and emotions, forming into unmet expectations. Coping mechanisms develop and become a way of life. They run in an endless loop in your head and play out in your behaviors and ultimately in your relationships. Track how you handle your relationships and you can discover the source of your unmet emotions. These unmet emotions can harm your confidence, your relationships and wreck your happiness.

 

The brain processes an incredible amount of information before you are consciously aware. That can be a challenging thought, if not downright overwhelming—at least until you know how to think clearly and make good decisions. Soon you will know so much more. The result is healthy thinking, genuine peace, better relationships, and assuring comfort in the knowledge that you will be okay. Learn it, do it, and become a better believer in you. You are wired to succeed! It truly is all about what happens between the ears.

 

Welcome to the discovery of the instinctive brain, the conscious mind, and the human spirit.

Endorsements

 

"Your approach (on a topic I know well) is unique and easy to read. This would be a vital tool for counselors, coaches, and think tanks."
- Dr. Barbara Baethe, Ph.D., LPC

 

"You get out of the chute fast, and right away you've got me looking at things differently. Your talent and humor come through, and you keep the reader thinking and turning the pages to see what's next."
- Michael Carr, Freelance Editor

 

"Why hasn't anyone taught this before? I wish I had known this long ago."
-Gregg Sanders, Chief Operating Officer

• Language: English
• Publisher: Randy Guttenberger
• Release date: Sep 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201534226

Book preview

It’s only your mind we’re talking about, oh... and your relationships, and your life.

A picture containing text, indoor, desk, computer Description automatically generated

© 2018 Rhino Insights, Inc.

Understanding WHY and HOW to convert your crazy into confidence and success, both within yourself and in your relationships.

By Randy Guttenberger

Art by Shawn K. Carson

2nd Edition

A picture containing text Description automatically generated

Turning your Turbulence into Tranquility

By Randy Guttenberger

Art by Shawn K. Carson

2nd Edition

Managing Your Crazy Self!

Turning your Turbulence into Tranquility

2nd Edition

Copyright © 2021 by Randy Guttenberger

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without prior written permission of the publisher.

Randy Guttenberger

Managing Your Crazy Self

Rhino Insights, Inc.

[e-mail]

Editors

Kim Andrews

Michael Carr

Associate Editor

Marilyn Anderson

Guttenberger Press

Houston, Texas

In association with

Elite Online Publishing

63 East 11400 South, #230

Sandy, UT 84096

EliteOnlinePublishing.com

ISBN: 978-0692603901 (Paperback)

ISBN: 978-1545238158 (Amazon)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Printed in the United States of America

Client Testimonials

You figured me out in two sessions! How? I spent decades in therapy. Randy, I walked on hot burning coals! Two times—10 feet and 15 feet! No one told me what you saw in just two sessions! Walking on coals didn’t solve my problems. You did. I have my life back. 

—Jackie H., Realtor

I almost fired a good employee because I didn’t know how to manage them. That employee is still with me 14 years later.   

—Sergio B., Chief Nurse Officer

You helped me give myself permission to love myself and showed me how to think in healthy ways.

—Beth T., Administrator

You give me a read on my staff that would have taken me six months to learn on my own.

—Jon Li M., CEO

I learned more from you in two or three sessions than in years of therapy.   

––Marilyn A., HR Director

Why isn’t anyone teaching this? I wish I had learned this long ago. 

––Gregg S., COO

I look back five years ago and see what I have accomplished from your coaching. I never would have known. Thank you for your insights and direction.

—Jackie K., Geophysicist

You helped me see my troubles and made me feel that I can manage them. It makes all the difference. I have even restored broken relationships with my extended family.

—Maria G., Area SR VP

Randy, you put the whole package together: mind, personality traits, experiences, goals. Everything makes sense.     

—Jon Lee M., IT Director

I am not sure what you said to my son, but he went from flunking out of college and not talking to us to walking with a spine in his back. Now he openly tells us his problems.

—Bob R., Psychiatrist

Randy, thank you for helping me with my staff. Even more surprising to me, my family says I am better.

—Marion J., CFO

The above are actual client responses. Names have been changed to protect confidentiality.

Acknowledgments

Several authors have provided me with wonderful insights on how managing thoughts and emotions can bring personal peace of mind and result in healthy relationships. I am eternally grateful to have discovered their work, and have used their concepts successfully for decades in my coaching in corporations and with individuals. This book is my creative expression of bringing these concepts together in a fun, simple, memorable, and effective way so that others can apply them and achieve success in their lives.

Bill Crawford, Life from the Top of the Mind

Harville Hendrix, Getting the Love You Want

John Bradshaw, Bradshaw On: The Family

Elizabeth Brown, Living Successfully with Screwed-Up People

Tara Bennett-Goleman, Emotional Alchemy

Bill Bonnstetter, Judy Suiter, and Randy Widrick, The Universal Language DISC: A Reference Manual

Special Acknowledgments

My greatest thanks go to my parents, Paul and Willene Guttenberger, for all the years of support and encouragement. Words cannot express my appreciation enough, but here they are: I love you.

My sons Ben, Jon, and Nic have my heartfelt appreciation for the inspiration and many insights they have given me. Many blessings on you. I can’t imagine what it’s like to have a behavioral analyst as a father. But I am eternally grateful to be that guy.

I want to thank Bill Bonnstetter, founder of Target Training International, for his vision, passion, and persistence in his work, and for encouraging me to pursue my own.

Thanks to my great friend Bob Goldstein, for his boundless humor and thought-provoking conversations, for allowing me to be me while challenging my own thoughts, and for sharing his insights, which helped me discover mine.

My deepest thanks to Marilyn Anderson for her hours of editing, patience, and humor. Without your help, I might still be talking about writing a book someday.

To Jeff Holland, hospital CEO, my endless gratitude for his linguistic wit and for allowing me to work with his teams for almost two decades. Jeff believed in me and introduced me to his best people, many of whom invited me to continue to be part of their journey over the years.

To Bill Crawford, for bringing the Life from the Top of the Mind principles to my life.

To Shawn Carson, a wonderfully creative talent, for his genius at rendering abstract concepts in graphic form. Your art is truly a gift of God’s creativity.

Visit www.managingyourcrazy.com

Opportunities:

Read up on topics in our blogs.

View short videos.

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Sign up for an MYS workshop (live or online).

Ask about personal coaching.

Host a workshop in your area.

Register for online courses, updates, newsletters, blogs, and videos.

Become MYS certified, be the expert in your area.

Connect with our nonprofit MYS Education.

Invite Randy as a speaker.

Receive special offers. 

Use your rhino mind and take charge of your life!

We would love to have you as an MYS Certified expert in your area!

Contact me at [e-mail].

Mission Statement

To bring out the best in people,

often when they can’t see it in themselves,

by providing tools and insights for their success.

No ostriches or rhinos were harmed

in the production of this book.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Special Acknowledgments

Mission Statement

Contents

Preface

Introduction

A Five-Step Journey to Renew Your Mind and connect with the Authentic You!

Chapter 1  Meet the Ostrich and the Rhino

Chapter 2  The Physical Structure of Your Brain:

A Blueprint

Chapter 3  The Instinctive Brain Begins with the Limbic System

Chapter 4  The Limbic System Triggers the Brain Stem: Your Reactions

Chapter 5  The Neocortex: Your Conscious Mind

Chapter 6  So, What’s the Problem?

Chapter 7  Your Instinctive Brain in Action

Chapter 8  The Jukebox: Wound Tunes

Chapter 9  The Instinctive Brain: Your Threat Detector

Chapter 10  Insecurities and Self-Esteem

Chapter 11  Independence

Self-Therapy

Chapter 12  The Solution

Add a volume knob to your thoughts.

Chapter 13  It’s Like Riding a Bicycle

Chapter 14  How Healing Happens in Your Brain

Chapter 15  Unhealthy Versus Healthy Loops

Chapter 16  Managing the Cycle of Emotions

Healing the Mind

Chapter 17  Four Key Relationships

How You React to Your Emotions  During the Day

How to Manage Your Emotions  During the Day

Chapter 18  Twelve Take Charge Rhino Tips  to Help Manage and Change Your Emotions

Chapter 19  Summary

Chapter 20  Resonate With People

Chapter 21  Recognizing Your Spirit

Chapter 22  Putting It All Together!

Picture the flow of thoughts and emotions.

Chapter 23  What Is Your Next Step?

Glossary of Terms

Fun Facts about the Ostrich

Fun Facts about Rhinos

Bibliography

About the Author

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About the Illustrator

The Rhino Story

Preface

What drives you crazy? Is there something that consistently sets you off? Is your mind incapable of shutting off all the chaotic mental chatter and stirring emotions? Why is that? What is the root source of your mind coming up with the things it does? Well, you are about to find out—and discover a great deal more.

This book is designed to give you insights into how the brain is wired and how you can manage your constantly working instinctive brain. This is your greatest challenge. A close friend pointed out to me that most people don’t want to know how the house is wired—they just want the light to come on when they flip the switch. He may be right. The problem, of course, comes when you flip the switch, and the light doesn’t come on! Is the problem the bulb? The switch? The circuit breaker? Or, is there no power at all? Who is supposed to fix this? Life has many broken light bulb moments with its petty annoyances, major setbacks, and disappointments. We all have things to overcome. No one comes through unscathed. So, who is going to fix me when my light doesn’t come on?

Think about it. No one’s life turns out like they thought it would. Have things not worked out quite the way you wanted? When you don’t heal your stored pain and disappointments, you live with unhealthy thoughts and emotions, and retain unmet expectations. Coping mechanisms develop and become a way of life. They run in an endless loop in your head and play out in your behaviors and ultimately in your relationships. Track how you handle your relationships to discover the source of the unmet expectations that lower your confidence, harm your relationships, and wreck your happiness.

The brain processes an incredible amount of information before you are consciously aware. That can be a challenging thought, if not downright overwhelming—at least, until you know how to think clearly and make good decisions. Soon you will know so much more. The result is healthy thinking, genuine peace, better relationships, and comfort in the knowledge that you will be okay. When you learn and