{"id":37000,"date":"2024-03-22T14:29:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-22T21:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=37000"},"modified":"2024-03-22T14:33:51","modified_gmt":"2024-03-22T21:33:51","slug":"no-more-delusional-shortcuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/no-more-delusional-shortcuts\/","title":{"rendered":"No More Delusional Shortcuts!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reading Bobby Duffy’s Why We’re Wrong About Nearly Everything<\/em> felt like having a challenging conversation with a responsible and competent friend who encouraged me to “check myself.” It is never easy to hear, “You are delusional.” Duffy states, “The reason we get so many things wrong is a combination of effects of how we think and what we are told. We are so wrong because of the interaction between these effects.” [1] Duffy discusses Daniel Kahneman’s Systems 1 and 2 thinking and the mental shortcuts that lead us astray. In Thinking Fast and Slow<\/em>, Kahneman writes, “System 1 registers the cognitive ease with which it processes information, but it does not generate a warning signal when it becomes unreliable.” [2] Furthermore, Kahneman writes, “When we think of ourselves, we identify with System 2, the conscious, reasoning self that has beliefs, makes choices, and decides what to think about and what to do.” [3] Ultimately, Duffy proposes that it is a system that leads us astray, prone to delusions and a misperception of reality.<\/p>\n

Why We’re Wrong About Nearly Everything<\/em> is not the first assigned reading this semester that encourages readers to consider how easily we can be led astray. Although I have primarily associated the idea of “being led astray” with external data, this week, I have considered the internal voices that misconstrue reality and require reframing my thoughts.<\/p>\n

Recently, I have been focusing on learning Hassaniya Arabic, the local dialect spoken in Mauritania. It is hard. Unfortunately, this week, I experienced a personal low. At the end of each day, I returned home with words like failure, loser, impossible, stupid, and a few expletives spinning around in my mind. This was the data (or voices) informing my perception of my reality. It negatively impacted my classroom learning and my feelings toward the language and the country. Duffy writes, “Our misperceptions are wide, deep, and long-standing.” [4] This short-cut thinking has been my long-standing go-to when I don’t feel like I am performing at a high level. Duffy explains, “Our brains handle negative information differently and store it more readily and accessibly.” This is accurate of myself when navigating something challenging that I cannot grasp. When my defenses are down, I immediately gravitate toward the negative. The negative becomes my reality, and I get stuck.<\/p>\n

Duffy argues that we need to change our mental shortcuts. [5] To do this, one of the multiple applications Duffy recommends is to accept the emotion but challenge the thought. [6] Rather than succumbing to our immediate emotions, take a more deliberative, contemplative approach. Duffy writes, “Missing how our emotions shape what we see and think are just some of the perils of perception we face every day.” [7] Thus, after a few days in what seemed like a language-learning emotional tailspin, I decided to sit down and name my emotions. I found there was a lot of fear. Kahneman writes, “Emotions such as fear, affection, and hatred explain most of the occasions on which people depart from rationality.” [8] Additionally, I challenged the thoughts I had about myself. I am not a failure because I do not have a perfect accent and struggle to recall an entirely new vocabulary. The reality is language learning is complex. I was delusional to think this would be an easy process. Accepting the emotion but challenging the thought is just one of ten applications Duffy recommends for dealing with our delusions.<\/p>\n

The applications Duffy prescribes to deal with our delusions share similarities to Eve Poole’s ideas presented in Leadersmithing<\/em> and the importance of templating. Especially the four areas of meta-learning: leadership muscle memory, self-regulation, reflective judgment, and learning to learn. [9] The area I want to emphasize very briefly is self-regulation. Poole writes, “Self-regulation, in cognitive terms, is the ability to calibrate your reactions and control your impulses.” Eve’s point concerning the necessity of self-regulation is to lessen the mental load. My current personal example of self-regulation in language learning is something I have experienced while learning French. I know the frustrations that surface regularly, but I also know you come out the other side with practice and discipline. Thus, I was surprised and disappointed that I was defaulting to old thinking patterns. I thought these reactions were a thing of the past! Fortunately, I have learned to work through these emotions more quickly and can continue moving forward. I finished the week with a positive attitude. During this time of learning Hassaniya, I desire to be more proactive in working through emotions and doing away with unhealthy thinking patterns that stunt growth. Possessing the tools to help me navigate complex data (external or internal) is critical to my mental health.<\/p>\n

Why We’re Wrong About Nearly Everything<\/em> was a good reminder to “check myself” and the data I am choosing to believe. I can be easily led astray, as I am prone to mental shortcuts and negative thoughts. This was something I experienced firsthand during a challenging week of language learning. The data spinning in my head concerning myself (i.e., failure, loser, impossible, stupid) gave me a false perception of reality. My reality was that of failure. This was not true. This thinking required a change from default, unhealthy thinking patterns. Duffy proposes that we need to change our mental shortcuts. He provides applications to help us deal with our misconceptions. The most impactful of Duffy’s ten applications in dealing with delusions was accepting the emotion but challenging the thought. Duffy states, “Tempering our immediate emotional reactions with more deliberative, contemplative thought is much more difficult\u2014but that’s the key.” [10] We do not have to deny our emotions; we should train ourselves to work through them more contemplatively. This is an area where I desire to grow more. I am appreciative for the tools that will continue to help me be proactive about my reactions and view of reality. No more delusional shortcuts!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1] Why We\u2019re Wrong About Nearly Everything – Professor Bobby Duffy, 2020. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=86tfiGCmiNE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[2] Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow<\/em> (p. 416). Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Kindle Edition.<\/p>\n

[3] Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow<\/em> (p. 21). Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Kindle Edition.<\/p>\n

[4] Bobby Duffy, Why We’re Wrong About Nearly Everything. <\/em>(p. 11). Basic Books. Kindle Edition.<\/p>\n

[5] Why We\u2019re Wrong About Nearly Everything – Professor Bobby Duffy, 2020. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=86tfiGCmiNE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[6] Bobby Duffy, Why We’re Wrong About Nearly Everything. <\/em>(p. 212). Basic Books. Kindle Edition.<\/p>\n

[7] Bobby Duffy, Why We’re Wrong About Nearly Everything. <\/em>(p. 9). Basic Books. Kindle Edition.<\/p>\n

[8] Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow<\/em> (p. 8). Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Kindle Edition.<\/p>\n

[9] Eve Poole, Leadersmithing: Revealing the Trade Secrets of Leadership<\/em> (p. 12). Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition.<\/p>\n

[10] Bobby Duffy, Why We’re Wrong About Nearly Everything. <\/em>(p. 212). Basic Books. Kindle Edition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reading Bobby Duffy’s Why We’re Wrong About Nearly Everything felt like having a challenging conversation with a responsible and competent friend who encouraged me to “check myself.” It is never easy to hear, “You are delusional.” Duffy states, “The reason we get so many things wrong is a combination of effects of how we think […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":208,"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":[3151],"class_list":["post-37000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-duffy-dlgp03","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37000","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\/208"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37000"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37000\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37013,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37000\/revisions\/37013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}