Look at your sheet from the other day outlining your Visions and Challenges. Re-read the past few days’ essays related to identity and cognitive biases. How can these ideas, and your further exploration of these topics, be used to rethink and develop your sense of your Challenges? Are specific modes of identification helping to create or contribute to your Challenges? Are some of your challenges the result of your biases?
In my work in this area, I have a potentially severe physical Challenge that my biases can complicate. In different ways, both sides of my family have significant health issues driven mainly by diet. On one side, it has led to early deaths, while on the other, Insulin Resistance issues are common. Logically, I know exactly what I need to do: follow a high-quality, low glycemic index diet and maintain a functional fitness level through fairly rigorous exercise. This, however, runs headlong into my bias toward avoiding issues arising from my biological heritage and against my bias toward the instant gratification of sugary, salty, fatty foods. With periods of back-sliding when under stress, I have learned how to plan ahead of my biases, but only because I took the time to become very aware of how they were influencing my behaviors and creating potentially more serious Challenges for myself in the future.
This same kind of thing can be applied to Challenges other than the personal physical. Often, our biases of wanting always to be right put us at odds with others in our emotional community, such as friends and partners. How would this be changed if you made yourself more aware of this bias and how it creates or adds to Challenges for you? Your challenge will likely not evaporate if you become aware of this bias. Still, you may find it is easier to manage than if you continue to act in the manner the bias dictates.
Try developing your Challenges in all six domains directly from the past few days’ essays or your reconsiderations. Do not worry about your Visions; we will use your Challenges for the subsequent few exercise sessions before returning to them. Think of this as a conscious use of the bias of avoiding in a positive sense, recruiting that 2/3 “away from” motivation before we get to the “towards” of your Visions.
Feel free to ask questions if you get stuck. This could be done on this post or via the contact information on this website.
Setemheb 