Everyday Systems

Hello all. For those that remember me, you'll know that I am a bit of a popular psychology junkie and that I think too much. And ever since I started No-S, lo these many years ago, the topics of habit formation, willpower, etc. have been particularly fascinating.

I'm currently reading "The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom." A couple of metaphors used for the brain and how humans think/behave really struck me.

The first is "the rider and the elephant," where the rider represents the cognitive, rational, verbal part of the brain. That part that developed last in terms of evolution. The elephant represents the rest of the brain - the "lizard brain" - as well as our emotional systems and a number of automatic response systems in our bodies.

The notion is that we are like a rider on an elephant when we make decisions. The rider can guide the elephant... unless the elephant really wants to go in another direction. And then, the elephant wins.

At first, I wasn't wild about thinking of part of myself as an elephant (fat memories), but it has grown on me as a metaphor as I consider the nature of elephants.

In particular, I remembered a fictional book I read some years ago called "Water for Elephants." One plot thread involved a circus elephant and two men who interacted with her very differently. One, the trainer and vet, cared for the elephant and treated it with kindness and affection. The other, the ringmaster, was a cruel bully who goaded and mistreated the elephant. The elephant responded as you might expect, working with the vet in a trusting manner and resisting the ringmaster.

And so we do with ourselves. I know I get better results when I remove obstacles for my "elephant" (like, not keeping junk food out) and provide incentives (like, promising nice tasty meals). When I "beat up" the elephant, the results are less good.

Interesting metaphor, isn't it? And the nice thing is that elephants can be trained... if you're smart enough to figure out what will motivate them.

More on "committees" in a separate post, since this is getting long...

Okay, part 2 - committees.

Another metaphor was that we like to think of ourselves as ONE self, but it may be more accurate to think of ourselves as a committee - and one which sometimes works at cross-purposes. This notion followed some fascinating discussion of split-brain studies, in which it was very clear that the different sides of the brain had different desires and wishes.

That made perfect sense to me. How often has part of me wanted to do a task, and another part resisted it? I want to be healthy, but I want the candy bar. I want to complete this report... except I don't. Etc.

The idea of myself as a committee helps with mindfulness. If the whole committee were articulate, there might be conversations like this:

The Decision-Maker (DM): I need to work on this report, but I'll go get snack first.
Stomach: Excuse me. I'm not really hungry.
DM: Really? I could have sworn the body wanted me to get up and go the vending machines.
Body: I wanted you to get up, but because I'm getting stiff sitting here. I need a stretch break.
Emotional self: Besides, I just don't WANT to work on that report. Eating is a great excuse to postpone that.
DM: Oh. Well. How about this then? I'll just open it up - that's all - and then we'll go on a short walk about the building. When we get back, we'll do just one little thing on the report, and then if we want to put it off, we can.

When I get back from the walk (minus vending machines), the open file beckons... and one little thing leads to another, and soon I'm engrossed in the report.

Interesting idea, isn't it? Kind of a playful way to think about how we make choices and build habit.

The committee metaphor is great! I've heard the rider and the elephant one before and like it too but it's so true about the committee. And when you attend a committee meeting there's always one guy coming out of it annoyed or rolling their eyes - that's usually my "good intention" committee member. I'll think about this next time I want a snack.

These are great! And so true -- I am constantly tricking myself into good behavior! My Lazy Self has turned out to be a great ally -- reluctant to go out into the cold and shop for treats when it's so comfy here on the sofa, for example. And my Elephant is feeling well taken care of, so no running amok!
Thanks for these!

KCCC said,
I'm currently reading "The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom."

This wisdom is found in the Bible with a spiritual struggle: Romans chapter 7, verses 22-23 says, "For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members."

It's nice to hear from you again, KCCC!

I enjoyed reading that. Will look the book up. Thank you

My committee is riding an elephant.

I gotta lot of work to do....

LOL Walkerlori!!

Even though someone beat me to posting this link, I'm including it here because it exemplifies the "committee" metaphor...

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/11 ... -our-minds

Is that cool or what? Helps explain why I feel better when I eat better.