The fact that humans survived in a world of more powerful predators is a huge tribute to the potency of our brain. Certainly our claws and jaws aren’t threatening to wolves and crocodiles, our strength is nothing but good entertainment to bears and elephants, and we are barely faster than a turtle to a puma.
But when it comes to the ability to strategize, plan and execute, no other creature compares, and that afforded us the lofty position we enjoy at the top of the food chain. Before we got here however, our predecessors have had to make countless life-saving decisions, often within a few seconds or less.
Over generations of survivors, humans developed thinking shortcuts which are still very pervasive today. Since they are so engrained and natural to us, we don't recognize we use them, nor do we realize the impact they can have on our choices and habits.
Here are five such shortcuts which can be detrimental to our health, and a suggestion for how to address each. While it is unlikely that we’ll ever break free of their influence, understanding how they work and being more mindful about them can alleviate their effects on our thought processes, choices, and wellness.
Sunk Costs
We hate failure. The more time, energy and money we’ve invested into something, the less we want to let go, explains Daniel Kahneman in his book Thinking, Fast and Slow. So we watch a late night TV show until the end even if the episode isn't that great and we know we’ll suffer from sleep deprivation the next day, and we eat the whole Sumo-size portion the waiter placed under our nose even if doing so requires some belt loosening.
Ask yourself: When does your reluctance to let go of something hurt your health?
Loss Aversion
We hate to lose, or to miss out on something. Studies estimate that losses have about twice the psychological impact of equivalent gains. When faced with a choice, we therefore tend to place more weight on avoiding to miss something than on trying to gain something else. That’s why we pick the happy hour over the gym session, read Facebook posts past bedtime, and cheat on our eating plan when an opportunity arises.
Ask yourself: When are you consistently choosing against sound health behaviors, and is the gain really worth it?
Optimism Bias
We like to think that we are immune to disease and protected from dangers by some invisible guardian angel. “It won’t happen to me”, think people who have unprotected sex or who choose the drive-through more often than they should.
In my wellness workshops, I often ask my audience how many have below average driving skills. In a crowd of 200 people, I’ll typically see five or six hands go up – including mine (my husband has told me enough times, I know that my driving skills aren't the best!). Similarly, most of us think we need less good sleep, food, mood and exercise than others to stay healthy and function optimally.
Ask yourself: Do you think you’re doing just fine even if sleep deprived, malnourished, stressed and/or sedentary? How do your mood, relationships and performence differ when you take better care of your body?
Confirmation Bias
We love for our beliefs and opinions to be validated. So much so that we have an internal lawyer, working around the clock to make sure we give more weight to anything that agrees with us, and discredit sources that disagree. If you’re an avid runner, you’re likely to find and remember information showing that running doesn’t influence the likelihood of developing arthritis. If you’d rather go blind than go for a run, you’re more likely to find and remember the studies that explain the dangers of joint overuse.
Ask yourself: What topics is your internal lawyer serving his most active duty on, and does it serve or interfere with maintaining a healthy lifestyle?
Fitting In
Our fundamental need to belong is a powerful behavior shaper. Just think of all the times you succumbed to regrettable choices due to peer pressure as a teenager - or just how difficult it was to resist - and you’ll agree that the desire to fit in impacts us deeply. In their book Connected: The Surprising Power of Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives, Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler review 30 years of data from one of the longest-running epidemiological studies. They found that change doesn’t happen in a vacuum; it happens in networks. When we live in a culture that glorifies sleep deprivation, promotes fast food, normalizes high stress and engineers movement out of every activity, our health clearly suffers.
Ask yourself: Who in your network twists your arm away from your health goals? Can you reverse that pressure?
Making Smarter Choices
I recommend working on one of these mental shortcuts at a time. As I always say, don't tackle the 500-pound gorilla first, but start by choosing something easier to work on. You'll later have the ability to build on your initial victories. Be mindful so you can catch yourself using the distracting shortcut, and ask a few close friends to keep you accountable too if you can. Then, be willing to admit when and how a shortcut is leading you astray, and make a smarter choice.
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MJ Shaar, MAPP, CPT, is the Founder and Owner of Smarts and Stamina, a company devoted to helping wellness professionals thrive. MJ is the author of Smarts and Stamina: The Busy Person’s Guide to Optimal Health and Performance.
MJ is regularly featured in the media and in industry conferences. She isavailable for speaking engagements, training workshops, media commentary, and private wellness coaching. To learn more, contact MJ at mj@SmartsAndStamina.com, or visit www.SmartsAndStamina.com.
Connect with MJ on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
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Shortlist of References
Photography by Karola Riegler https://www.flickr.com/photos/karola/
Allen, J. & Shaar, M.-J. (2013). Wellness doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Positive Psychology News.
Christakis, N. A. & Fowler, J. H. (2009). Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives. New York: Little, Brown.
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow. London, Allen Lane.
Kahneman, D., Knetsch, J. & Thaler, R. H. (1991). Anomalies: The Endowment Effect, Loss Aversion, and Status Quo Bias. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 5 (1), 193-206.
Miller, R. H., Edwards, W. B., Brandon, S. C., Morton, A. M., & Deluzio, K. J. (2014). Why don’t most runners get knee osteoarthritis? A case for per-unit-distance loads. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 46(3): 572-9. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000000135. Abstract.
PhysioRoom.com (no date). Knee Arthritis Explained.
Weinstein, N. & Klein, W. M. (1996). “Unrealistic Optimism: Present and Future”. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 15 (1): 1–8. doi:10.1521/jscp.1996.15.1.1.