Why your brain actually craves certain emotions over others

Think of your emotional brain as a custom dashboard with seven gauges—one for each command system like the Sensualist or the Jester. Imagine those gauges suddenly hitting red: you’re burning out in your CEO role (Energy Czar), or you’re bored to tears in your new accounting gig (Explorer). By taking a quick test, you uncover which gauges are pegged too high or too low. Armed with that map, you can tweak your daily drive—add a brisk morning run to manage stress or a weekly improv class to inject laughter.

Neuroscience shows these systems are wired early in life but remain changeable. Each time you deliberately rev up an understimulated system, new neural pathways strengthen until that gauge sits comfortably in the green. Within weeks you feel more alive, more balanced. And by periodically checking your dashboard—say, a monthly review—you keep your emotional homeostasis on point, ensuring you’re not just surviving life’s journey, but thriving.

First, discover your emotional wiring by taking the seven-system quiz. Then audit your week to see where you’re under or overstimulated. Choose one targeted tweak—like scheduling a weekly game night if your Jester is underactive—and track how you feel afterward. Make it a monthly habit to reassess and adjust. You’ll create a life that really fits your unique emotional dashboard. Give it a try this weekend.