Every day, most of us have moments when we think, "Why did I say that?" or, "If I had just..." We're sharp with our kids or partners over small things. We criticize our teammate in front of the others. We agree to a deadline we know isn't realistic. Or maybe the issues are bigger. Maybe we've lied about something important. Maybe we've taken an unethical shortcut, cheated, or lied.

The good news? These behaviors don't make us bad; they simply make us human. They are the coping strategies we use to survive in lifeand they've been with us a long time. Often they are grounded in good intentions that are turned upside down by our less-than-effective coping strategiesall because we have connected to fear. We all can be afraid, and much of the time we don't even realize what we're doing, let alone why.

But every day, we also make our best intentions a reality. Within 10 minutes of wishing we could pull words back into our mouths or make a different choice, we can be supportive, focused, honest, patient, and committed. How quickly the heart can shift from selfish to selfless, from judging to compassionate, motivated to depressed, constructive to destructive, full of doubt to confident. We can be effective one minute and ineffective the next.

We are all an and. Life is an and. Ineffective, below-the-line behavior coexists with effective, above-the-line behavior, and we are all able to switch from one to the other and back again in the blink of an eye.

That and is the essence of the line that exists within our heart and the four universal principles of life that drive our behavior. They are:

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4 Universal Principles That Drive Our Behavior, According To A Neuropsychologist - mindbodygreen.com