{"id":29277,"date":"2022-10-27T15:13:52","date_gmt":"2022-10-27T22:13:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=29277"},"modified":"2022-10-27T15:13:52","modified_gmt":"2022-10-27T22:13:52","slug":"facing-my-own-fast-and-slow-thinking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/facing-my-own-fast-and-slow-thinking\/","title":{"rendered":"Facing My Own Fast and Slow Thinking"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am struggling this week with what to write about Daniel Kahneman\u2019s Thinking Fast and Slow.<\/em> As I have delved into this book, I feel like I understand the concepts well enough, but the writing feels illusive. My thoughts have ranged from a popular meme which says, \u201cThat moment you turn down the radio so you can see better,\u201d to reading English verses reading Greek. I have thought about my medical journey and my mental health journey and how the Kahneman\u2019s two systems relate to what I have learned in both.<\/p>\n

Kahneman writes, \u201cThe automatic operations of System 1 generate surprisingly complex patterns of ideas, but only the slower System 2 can construct thoughts in an orderly series of steps.\u201d[1]<\/a> He further elaborates on each of these systems, detailing what each looks like in practicality, as well as discussing the attributes of each system. He suggests that \u201cSystem 1 is indeed the origin of much that we do wrong, but it is also the origin of most of what we do right\u2014which is most of what we do.\u201d[2]<\/a> Kahneman describes System 2 as a reflection of the knowledge of System 1. \u201cSystem 2 articulates judgments and makes choices, but it often endorses or rationalizes ideas and feelings that were generated by System 1.\u201d[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

On Monday, I underwent a glucagon blood test. This test involves getting an injection and having my blood drawn every half hour for four hours. The injection left me feeling nauseous and lousy. Getting my blood drawn that many times is no fun either. I have difficult veins, so it is not easy. I did this test because we switched health insurance in June and our new insurance refuses to cover a medication that I have taken for the past five years for low growth hormone. The test was supposed to prove to the insurance company that I needed the medication. I received my results on Wednesday and they did not meet the insurance criteria for coverage.<\/p>\n

Kahneman writes, \u201cNothing in life is as important as you think it is when you are thinking about it.\u201d[4]<\/a> Yesterday, this is how I felt. I could not stop thinking about the stupid test results. I felt frustrated, hopeless, despondent. Kahneman also writes, \u201cThe premise of this book is that it is easier to recognize other people\u2019s mistakes than our own.\u201d[5]<\/a> As I sat in my own misery, I texted a dear friend. Earlier in the day, I had prayed with another friend and felt better, but message from my doctor left me feeling down again. Even a trip to my favorite fabric store did not help to raise my spirits. My friend texted me, saying, \u201cWell guess it is time to talk to God. You always tell me to leave it with him. He will help. Like 1 on 1 time.\u201d[6]<\/a> She reminded me of perspective. I needed to follow what Kahneman suggests: \u201cThe way to block errors that originate in System 1 is simple in principle: recognize the signs that you are in a cognitive minefield, slow down, and ask for reinforcement from System 2.\u201d[7]<\/a> 597 of 784<\/p>\n

Recognize the signs: <\/strong>I knew from my emotional response that I was in a minefield.<\/p>\n

Slow down:<\/strong> I took the afternoon off to allow myself to process these emotions, to allow myself to feel them, but not let them consume me.<\/p>\n

Ask for reinforcement:<\/strong> As I have taken some time to process, I am reminded that God is in control. Whether or not insurance will cover this medication does not limit God\u2019s ability to meet my needs or to heal me.<\/p>\n

Sometimes stopping and reflecting on what I am learning is enough. It is helpful to remember that I do not have to rely on my own strength and that I have grown in my ability to face a difficult situation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Daniel Kahneman, Thinking Fast and Slow<\/em> (New York, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2011), iBooks loc. 30 0f 784<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Ibid., loc. 595 of 784<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Ibid., loc. 594 of 784<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Ibid., loc. 576 of 784<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Ibid., loc. 41 of 784<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a>\u00a0Kimberly Knight, text message to author, October 26, 2022.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Kahneman, loc. 597 of 784<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am struggling this week with what to write about Daniel Kahneman\u2019s Thinking Fast and Slow. As I have delved into this book, I feel like I understand the concepts well enough, but the writing feels illusive. My thoughts have ranged from a popular meme which says, \u201cThat moment you turn down the radio so […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":155,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2052],"class_list":["post-29277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-kahneman","cohort-dlgp01"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/155"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29277"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29277\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29278,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29277\/revisions\/29278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}