You’re Such an Animal! Overcoming Biology
Goose Eckert, 2024
All the books we have been reading lately about thinking… really have me thinking!
I love dogs, but how much DNA could I possibly have in common with my brute-force 117-pound Bernese Mountain pup? The answer is a surprising 84 percent.[1] In the opening pages of his book, Clear Thinking, author Shane Parrish acknowledges that human biology is a significant factor that determines how we make decisions in life. “Our biological tendencies are hardwired within us,”[2] which is why we are sometimes territorial and protective of ourselves and those we care about. It is also why we naturally tend to create and operate under a hierarchical structure – somewhat like dogs. These are not bad characteristics; however, they can lead to clouded thinking, especially at times when decision-making matters most.
Parrish, a former intelligence officer when a plane crashed into the Pentagon during the 9/11 attack, shared that during this time of crisis, he and his colleagues were unprepared for the numerous decisions that would cross their plates. It was then that he realized, despite his college and military education, that he lacked instruction on how to methodically guide his decision-making abilities, which is what prompted further interest in this area.
With a little nudge garnered through his friendship with author and Nobel Prize Winner, Daniel Kahneman, Parrish, determined that discipline through setting personal rules was the most successful framework to establish good habits that would allow for better coping when crisis struck. In Thinking Fast and Slow, author Daniel Kahneman describes “system one” as the automatic thinking that people tend to do in a hurry while “system two” is when you intentionally slow down to weigh the pros and cons of the decision.[3]
Parrish adopts the same description of thinking models, but names them differently and builds on them. He correlates Kahneman’s “system one” as more biological or autopilot thinking. These reflect the natural traits that are in our DNA. But Parrish works backward from the current thinking modes to assess the compounding of previous choices and behaviors that directly impact the choices made in the present moment. Comparing it with relationships, Parrish believes that if you nurture them well, relationships can better withstand and overcome hurdles as they arise. However, a crisis could easily destroy a neglected relationship. He calls this “putting water or gas on the fire.”[4]
The other element that Parrish advocates for is consistency, inferring that most people follow routines for only a short time, leaving them unprepared when a problem arises. Life Church pastor, Craig Groeschel, shares the same sentiment that, Successful people do CONSISTENTLY what others do OCCASIONALLY.”[5] He argues that making a rule for yourself leaves less room to be sabotaged by a lack of willpower.
We may do our very best in the moment, but what we did that led up to that moment defines whether we really did our best or not. Whether we were prepared or operated on autopilot. For me, at this very moment, I am not operating at my best. Not only do I not feel well, but I have been fulfilling extensive work obligations and thus spending less time on my health. I am seeing the consequences of my actions through Kahneman’s “system one” thinking or Parrish’s autopilot thinking.
Another concept co-opted by Parrish is the decision-making quadrant. If the risk for error is low, you are relatively safe to think fast with your “system one” brain. However, bigger decisions with a more significant risk should be given more time to consider. He argues that we should use our “system two” brain to consider the outcome. We should ask ourselves whether the result could be a win-win scenario or a win-lose. Could it be a lose-win scenario or a lose-lose? Taking the time to stop and consider the gravity of the choice and its related impact will help you consider how to make decisions. This is precisely what Parrish lacked on 9/11.
Independently, the concepts Parrish writes about are not novel. However, his coupling of them together has brought new life and awareness to the importance of what Kahneman pioneered in how to successfully think fast and slow. I really enjoyed this book and the three podcast interviews with him that I listened to.
[1] Martini, Hunter. “Man’s Best Distant Relative: How Much DNA Do We Share with Dogs?” DDC UK DEV. Last modified August 30, 2023. Accessed April 17, 2024. https://dnacentre.co.uk/blog/mans-best-distant-relative-how-much-dna-do-we-share-with-dogs/.
[2] Parrish, Shane. Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results. New York, NY: Portfolio/Penguin, 2023.
[3] Kahneman, Daniel. Thinking, Fast and Slow. 1st pbk. ed. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013.
[4] Freedom Pact. Former Spy Reveals His Secrets For Making Better Decisions | Shane Parrish, 2023. Accessed April 18, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHss9qawHAo.
[5] “Https://Twitter.Com/Craiggroeschel/Status/1215438121501851652?Lang=en.” X (Formerly Twitter). Accessed April 18, 2024. https://twitter.com/craiggroeschel/status/1215438121501851652?lang=en.
About the Author
Jennifer Eckert
Fundraising director, people connector, believer in second chances, fights poverty, supports justice reform, lives a life integrated with Matthew 25.14 responses to “You’re Such an Animal! Overcoming Biology”
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Hi Jennifer,
How does Parrish’s concept of “autopilot thinking” correlate with Daniel Kahneman’s “system one” thinking, and how does understanding this relationship help you make more intentional decisions in your daily work?
Thank you, Shela, for your question. Parrish’s notion of autopilot is, I believe the same as Kahneman’s system one thinking. David Rock also has a name for this same thinking mode, but the name has slipped my mind. But what I can see is this is a highly studied area of the brain. Having specific words to describe the mental pattern has already helped me become more aware of when my mind slips into system one mode.
routines for a short time
I love your synopsis and application of these concepts Jennifer. One thing that kept irking me as I read the book was Parrish’s use of the word “success.” How do you measure success when it comes to spiritual formation or discipleship? It’s like measuring success when you count how many people go to one church vs. another, instead of looking at how many changed hearts and lives there are.
So I wonder, based on your big takeaways, what do you think will provide the most “success”? And how do you define that?
What a great question, Debbie. Always a deep thinker – keep doing that! How to measure success when it comes to spiritual formation is something that I believe can only be measured by God, because you may not ever see the fruits of your investment. Sometimes you can feel satisfaction by watching someone’s actions (i.e., are they performing spiritual activities more often? are they getting involved in faith-based organizations? do they share the excitement of praying for someone who really needed it?) There are a billion examples, but for me, it is truly an “actions speak louder than words” matter, and even that is not measurable because we cannot see or fully understand their thinking.
And I love the pic of your dog! 🙂
Thank you! He is what I call Jesus in a dog’s body. He exudes joy every second of the day. He IS joy.
Jennifer, thanks for your blogs this semester. You stories have been dynamite.
The idea of consistency is so important. What wisdom would you share about healthy habits with someone who is on the road for work a lot and doesn’t have a lot of consistency in their work?
Excellent question, Graham, and thanks for the compliment. How to maintain consistency in a busy schedule is a good one. Using health as my example – I have been in a “science experiment” with my health for almost 10 years and have seen positive results in a variety of ways. I learned to develop a different set of rules for when I am at home vs. when I travel, which is about 50% of the time.
During travel periods, I look in advance for the pockets when I will have control over my transportation, time, and food choices vs. when others will be leading me. Time is a big factor in all of that because it bring me to have honest conversations with myself. Will I have a rental car? Will I be stuck in meetings all day? Will I need to eat within a narrow window between meetings? What choices do I have (advance planning is important with me for food). Will I really get up at 4:30 AM to exercise?
All of these questions have helped me develop a life of integration. Nearly everything I do is integrated somehow because it allows for the natural ebbs and flows of life to occur. It becomes a matter of “when” rather than “if.” Sometimes it takes a variety of ways to get my exercise in within a single day, but I all adds up.
Just this morning I heard a statement from a company that is learning how to become a four-day work week business. She said it is a process of constant self-assessment of how time is spent. Once they recognize areas of waste, they employ skills to grow more efficient. The company has also offered a ton of training on efficiency and said that being more efficient is not learned overnight. Her remark is a great correlation to my health rules above.
Hey Jennifer! Thanks for sharing. I liked how you mentioned what we do in the moment. How do you see your decision making altered as a result of this reading?
Hi Daren, being able to name and describe the dynamics and thinking patterns has been very helpful. Once I recognize them I can either retain the good habit or rewrite the bad one. R & R.
Self-awareness is key as is asking others you trust for feedback.
Jennifer, thank you for your post. Your writing is always a joy to read and I appreciate how you are able to clarify your thoughts in relation to the reading. You focused on Parrish’s automatic rule approach to thinking more clearly. I am curious how you might apply that in your current ministry context?
Thank you, friend. Clarifying my thoughts means I must find quiet time to actually get into a system two mindset. I perform best in the mornings, so arranging high-thinking tasks early in the day is important. I find that when I do that, my brain will still perform better in the afternoon even if my body is tired.
Do you remember that phrase, “A body in motion stays in motion”? I think our brains function the same way. A brain in motion early in the day will carry you through the sluggish parts later and into the evening.
Hi Jennifer, I loved the playful energy with which you opened this post! You said a handful of things that stuck out to me, but I want to dive into 1) the need for consistency and how what defines a moment is not the moment itself but what leads up to it and 2) the decision-making quadrant. I personally felt the latter was a simple yet powerful tool I could start using right away (and already have); however, as someone who tends to dive in hard, do something for a bit, and then burnout, I’d love to hear you’re thoughts on turning these tools into “rule” that truly do become part of your identity/consistent default behaviour. Where have you flourished and floundered on this?
Akwese – great to hear from you and thank you for the question. Your self-awareness statement about diving in hard, maintaining for a bit, and then burning out is very insightful. I wonder what your “middle ground” is (the routines you already have and what makes them stick). I also wonder what happens in your thinking as you are diving in (what causes the excitement) and burning out (why are you no longer as excited). I am sure it is different with every scenario, but curious about common threads.
Of the two areas you mentioned, I am far stronger with consistency. In a previous answer, I used health as my example. I constantly assess what caused me to hit the mark or miss the mark, which boils down to recognizing when I can control things vs. when I am a follower. Understanding (and accepting) my own natural rhythms has been especially helpful because I can more effectively build tasks around the ebb and flow of life.
The quadrant is helpful, but to some degree, I believe we already assess risk and reward in different ways. I will likely utilize this tool as I prepare for large project management endeavors.