Emptying That Threat Bucket
July 18, 2026
I love singing. Always have. I’ve been student at The Jazz School for a couple years. And now, me ’n my saxophone playing pal Shirl are trying to start an all woman funk band. (I fantasize that we’ll get gigs in motorcycle dive bars in the Delta somewhere… dark, smokey, full of rough characters who will become mild yet gobsmacked fans of we wild-women-of-funk.)
The stakes are high, so I’ve been cramming on how to become a better singer. Lessons, books, youtube videos….
Andrew Byrne has a very popular book The Singing Athlete which I just started reading yesterday. I am blown away by something he said on pg. 6. Something so astonishing and cool that maybe it’ll change the trajectory of EVERYTHING in my life…
Byrne calls it the “Threat Bucket.”
According to Byrne (and all kinds of science), our brain’s first goal is to keep us safe. All the other stuff like making a good lasagna and planning a trip to Egypt come AFTER. Of course there are super obvious threats to our safety like riding on the subway with a wild boar. But there are also lower threats (and even perceived-only threats*) that the brain tracks – like not getting enough sleep, being a bit hungry, running late to work… Though seemingly benign, these matter. And every threat, little or big, real or perceived, goes into the threat bucket.
“Threat is anything your brain thinks might be dangerous.” says Byrne. “As threats start to accumulate in the bucket, your first brain will begin to get very scared.”
And when brain gets scared for our safety, it pulls out all the stops. This can manifest as pain, fatigue, breathing problems, anxiety & depression….
So for those of us with sensitive tilty minds, or who are in pain, or who wonder off-and-on if we have chronic fatigue syndrome, maybe it’s because our threat bucket is too full?????
*Besides real threats (tiny and boar-ish) I also walk around on any given afternoon, making up threats:
- “Pretty sure everyone hates me.”
- “That dog is too close to the street! Some dork on his cell is gonna squash him!”
- “I haven’t checked my credit card statement in weeks. I’m an irresponsible grown-up!”
- “I just ate lettuce! OMG, the explosive diarrhea lettuce? I don’t know where the nearest bathroom is!!!”
Oh. My. Goodness! Stop.
So, my fellow sensitive beings, let’s check under the hoods of our lives and empty what we can from our threat buckets. Let’s be sure we are sleeping well enough, getting enough love, having quality quiet time, remembering to notice the beauty in life, eating good food regularly, not thinking smack about ourselves, getting outside, having fun…..
Thanks Andrew Byrne. THAT was excellent (and I’m only on page 6).
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