The Struggle
THE
STRUGGLE
Mario
D’Couto
"I do not do the good I want, but do the evil I do not want" (Romans 7:19)
It’s been quite some time since I have posted anything
for a while as I have relocated to a new area and was therefore caught up with
it. I must say that relocating to a new area has challenged and pushed me out
of my comfort zone. And yet there’s no growth when we don’t push ourselves.
Going through the experience of relocating made me think as to why is it that
we as humans struggle when we want to do away with those things we may not want
to see in us, when we would like to change for the better but yet struggle
with. From a Christian standpoint, we can attribute it to our fallen nature. As
human beings, endowed with free will, the sense of morality is present within
that enables us to distinguish between right from wrong, truth from error and
yet while we know it and are aware of it, we act pretty much in a way that is
contrary to what we would like to do or ought to do. Is there any scientific
explanation to this?
Daniel Kahneman in his book, “Thinking fast and slow”
speaks about System 1 and System 2 where System 1 refers to the subconscious
mind and System 2 refers to the conscious mind. The subconscious mind effortly
originates impressions and feelings that are the main sources of the explicit beliefs
and deliberate choices of the conscious mind.
The automatic operations of the subconscious mind operate surprisingly
complex patterns of ideas but only the slower conscious mind can construct
thoughts in an orderly series of steps. Yet while in most cases the
subconscious mind seems to be our dominant thought process, there are times
where the conscious mind takes over the freewheeling impulses and association
of the subconscious mind. Both systems have their abilities, limitations and
functions.
The subconscious mind runs automatically while the
conscious mind functions in a comfortable low – effort mode, in which only a fraction
of its capacity is engaged. The subconscious mind continuously generates
suggestions for the conscious mind whether that is impressions, intuitions,
intentions and feelings. If endorsed by the conscious mind, impressions and
intentions turn into beliefs and impulses turn into a voluntary action. When
all goes smoothly, the conscious mind adopts the suggestions of the
subconscious mind with little or no modification. Thus when such a thing
happens, we believe our impressions and act on our desires.
When the subconscious mind runs into difficulty, it calls
on the conscious mind to support more detailed and specific processing that may
solve the problem of the moment. The conscious mind is mobilized when a
question arises for which the subconscious mind does not offer an answer. You
can also feel a surge of conscious attention whenever you are surprised. When
surprised, the conscious mind is activated when an event is detected that
violates the model of the world that the subconscious mind maintains. Surprise
activates and orients our attention. That is when we try to search our memory
for a story that makes sense of the surprising event. The conscious mind is also credited with the
continuous monitoring of our own behaviour – the control that keeps us polite
when we are angry and alert when we are driving at night. The conscious mind is
mobilized to increased effort when it detects an error to be made, for example,
remember a time when you almost blurted out an offensive remark and note how
hard you worked to restore control. Most of what the conscious mind thinks and
does originates in our subconscious mind and the conscious mind takes over when
things get difficult for which it normally has the last word.
The division of labour between the subconscious and
conscious mind is highly efficient: it minimizes effort and optimizes performance. The arrangement works well most of the time because the
subconscious mind is generally very good at what it does: its models of
familiar situation are accurate, its short – term predictions are usually
accurate as well and its initial reaction to challenges are swift and generally
appropriate. Yet, the subconscious mind has biases, systematic errors that it
is prone to make for example the subconscious mind could cause to us be biased towards
something although that particular thing may not be the case or we may not want
to do a particular task even through it is important or necessary. It tends to
take the easier route by answering the easier question than the one it was
asked and it has little understanding of logic and statistics. One further
limitation of the subconscious mind is that it cannot be turned off. If you are
shown a word on the screen in a language you know, you will read it unless your
attention is totally focused elsewhere. Thus one of the prime tasks of the
conscious mind is to overcome the impulses of the subconscious mind. In other
words the conscious mind is in control.
Because the subconscious mind operates automatically and
cannot be turned off at will, errors of intuitive thought are often difficult
to prevent. Biases cannot always be avoided because the conscious mind may have
no clue to the error. Even when cues to likely errors are available, errors can
be prevented only by the enhanced monitoring and effortful activity of the
conscious mind. As a way to live your life, however, continuous vigilance is
not necessarily good and it is certainly impractical. For instance, constant
questioning our own thinking would be impossibly tedious and the conscious mind
is much too slow and inefficient to serve a substitute for the unconscious mind
in making routine decisions. The best we can do is to recognize situations in
which mistakes are likely to occur and to try harder to avoid significant
mistakes when the stakes are high. Sometimes it is easier to recognize other
people’s mistakes than our own but at least in doing so, we can try to learn so
as to not to repeat it in our own lives.
Several psychological studies have shown that people who
are simultaneously challenged by a demanding cognitive task and by a temptation
are more likely to yield to the temptation. Imagine that you are asked to
retain a list of 7 digits for a minute or two. You are told that remembering
the digits is your top priority. While your attention is focused on the digits,
you are offered a choice between two desserts: a chocolate caked and a fruit
salad. The evidence suggests that you would be more likely to select the
tempting chocolate cake when your mind is loaded with digits. The subconscious
mind has more influence on one's behaviour when the conscious mind is busy. Self –
control requires attention and effort or another way of putting it is that
controlling thoughts and behaviour is one of the tasks the conscious mind
performs.
A series of experiments conducted by psychologist Roy
Baumeister and his colleagues has shown conclusively that all variants of
voluntary effort – cognitive, emotional or physical – draw at least in part on
a shared pool of mental energy. The experiments conducted by Baumeister are
successive (consecutive; one after another) and not simultaneous tasks (as seen
above in trying to remember the 7 digit code and trying to resist the
temptation for the chocolate cake simultaneously).
Baumeister’s group had repeatedly found that an effort of
the will or self – control is tiring; if you had to force yourself to do
something, you are less willing or less able to exert self – control when the
next challenge comes around. In a typical demonstration, participants who were
instructed to stifle their emotional reaction to an emotionally charged film
would later perform poorly on a test of physical stamina – how long they can
maintain a strong grip on a dynamometer in spite of increasing discomfort. The
emotional effort in the first phase of the experiment reduces the ability to
withstand the pain of sustained muscle contractions because of which they later
succumb more quickly to the urge to quit. In another experiment, people are
first depleted by a task in which they eat virtuous foods such as radishes
while resisting the temptations to indulge in chocolate cookies.
Later, these people will give up earlier than normal when faced with a
difficult cognitive task.
This only goes to point that the conscious mind or the
human will is like a muscle. Activities that impose high demands on the
conscious mind require self – control and the exertion of self – control is
depleting and unpleasant which is why after exerting self – control in one
task, generally, it is very unlikely we would make an extra effort in another
task although it can be done if there is a strong incentive to do so.
Another famous experiment that I can think of is the “Marshmallow
Experiment” by Walter Mischel who found that children who were able to
control their cravings fared better later in life whether it was academics,
careers, finances and so on. Shane Fredrick, a professor at the Yale School of
Management conducted a Cognitive Reflection Test to study the characteristics
of students who scored very low on this test where he found that the
supervisory function of the conscious mind is weak in these type people; they
are prone to answer questions with the first idea that comes to mind and
unwilling to invest the effort needed to check their intuition. Individuals who
uncritically follow their intuitions about puzzles are also prone to accept
other suggestions from the subconscious mind. In particular, they are
impulsive, impatient and keen to receive immediate gratification. For example,
in a group who were asked about if given an option to receive 3,800 dollars
next month rather than receiving 3,400 dollars this month, 63% opted for the
latter. Or take another example, when asked how much they will pay to get
overnight delivery of a book they have ordered, the low scorers on the
Cognitive Reflection Test are willing to pay twice as much as high scorers. Fredrick’s
findings suggest that the characters of our psychodrama have different ‘personalities’.
The subconscious mind is impulsive and intuitive while the conscious mind is
capable of reasoning and cautions but at least for some people, it is also
lazy. We recognize related differences among individuals: some people are more
like their conscious mind while others are closer to their subconscious mind.
This simple test has emerged as one of the better predictors of lazy thinking.
This also explains why the Spartans and the Elite Forces are at their peak when
it comes to task accomplishment because of the training and formation they have
received which have helped them develop the kind of discipline that helps them
in various fields and not just in combat.
Even when it comes to the way we think, this particular
trend can be seen which is following the path of least resistance. For example,
Daniel Kahneman would explain how we generate intuitive opinions on complex
matters is, if a satisfactory answer to a hard question is not found quickly,
the subconscious mind will find a related question that is easier and will
answer it. He calls this substitution, the operation of answering one
question in place of another. He also goes on to further diversify this phenomenon
of substitution into 2 further categories, namely,
1.
Target questions:
which is the assessment you intend to produce (the harder question)
2.
Heuristic question:
which is the simpler question that you answer instead or you choose to answer
because it is simpler and easier
The technical definition of heuristic is a simple
procedure that helps find adequate, though often imperfect answers to difficult
questions. How do people manage to make judgments of probability without
knowing precisely what probability is? It is perhaps as humans, we somehow seek
out ways to simplify tasks. This is to say that people actually judge something
else and believe they have judged probability. The subconscious mind often
makes this move when faced with difficult target questions, if the answer to a
related and easier heuristic question comes readily to mind. Of course, the
conscious mind has the opportunity to reject this intuitive answer or to modify
it by incorporating other information. However given that our conscious mind
most often is lazy or would choose to take the easier route, it often follows
the path of least effort and endorses a heuristic answer without much scrutiny
of whether it is truly appropriate. This is something which you and I probably
witness around us and also at a personal level,
whether it is cutting back on a want, something that you wanted to buy,
something fancy whether that is a designer shirt, an expensive gadget and so
on, so that you can invest for something more important or making the choice to
exercise, eat right and sleep right to be in good health and in good shape
instead of binge eating and drinking and just wasting away becoming a couch
potato or even the choice to set aside a time for prayer instead of going out
or spending it on something else like maybe watching your favourite T.V.
programme, being occupied with work and so on. The examples are many.
For those of us who want to be at the next level, the
struggle can be challenging, demanding and maybe even painful or overwhelming.
And yet nothing that was not worth it, came easy; there was a price to be paid.
Good things, those that truly would enrich our lives, are worth fighting for.
So in as much as the struggle can be intimidating, it’s important to not be
perturbed but to assess the situation calmly and focus on what is within your
control. Start small!
Most of us find ourselves too often repeating the same
mistakes, stuck in bad habits and few of us understand why. Procrastination,
lack of assertion, disorganization, smoking, overworking, poor sleep, internet addiction
and the list goes on. And in as much we may feel more hopeless and more
critical of ourselves whenever we try but fail, leading to self – destructive
habits that are the greatest source of unnecessary misery in our lives, there
is hope. Science has shown that change is possible through neuroplasticity, the
idea of the plastic (changeable) brain, the recognition that our brain can
change and grow physically in response to life’s experience. New brain cells
are constantly being formed; new networks between cells keep growing as we
learn new things. Neuroscientists know now that bad habits have a physical
existence in the structure of the brain; they become the default circuits when
we are faced with temptation. Depression burns out joy receptors; anxiety
develops a hair trigger. But through neuroplasticity, we can rewire the brain
to develop a healthier circuitry. Neuroscientists have proven this with the
latest imaging equipment. People tormented by obsessive thoughts can see how
their brains change as they learn to master their thought process. Healthy
habits become easier; joy receptors regenerate and anxiety loses its grip. It
takes consistency and practice but its well within your reach. People believe they
lack will power but will power is not something you either have or don’t have, like
blue eyes, for example. It’s a skill, a skill that can be acquired through
practice and repetition. You have to train your nervous system as you would
train your muscles and reflexes. You have to take yourself to the psychic gym
but with the certainty that each time you practice an alternative behaviour,
you have made it easier to do it the next time. If you have ever learned
something that takes practice, any skill, whether it is in music, sports, arts and
so on, you can use the same methods to get to know yourself and overcome your
damaging and unwanted behaviour. This no doubt is a difficult thing to do
because it does not come naturally to us; after all, there must be powerful
forces behind our self – destructive behaviour if it’s really hurting us. If it
were easy, you and I would have stopped long ago. Overcoming these patterns of
self – destruction requires a great expansion in our understanding of
ourselves.
It’s vitally necessary, if you want to control your own
self – destructive habits that you understand the scenario that got you under
its spell. But just understanding it is not sufficient. You have to learn new
skills and habits that will be more effective in helping you be who you want to
be; you’ll need to practice these new skills regularly until they become second
nature to you, skills that are doable and not rocket – science. Of course,
patience and determination is required to stay with your practice since despite
your best efforts or just when you felt you’re out at the edge of victory, you
may find yourself going back to square one.
However, neuroscientists have shown that if we simply
practice good habits, our brains will grow and change in response with the
result that these good habits become easier and easier. When we do anything
repeatedly, with focused attention, our nerve cells will physically grow new
connections between say nerve centre A (go to the gym) and nerve centre B (stay
at the gym until your workout is done). Nerves A and B develop a stronger
connection with more transmitting and receiving points and going to do our
workout becomes a habit with physical embodiment in the brain. Neurons that
fire together, wire together. We forget our aches, pains and distractions and
do it and every time we do it, we make it easier to do the same thing the next
day. This same principle can be transposed to different kinds of skill sets or
goals that we would like to achieve.
In one experiment that was done, some scientists taught a
group of college students how to juggle and then observed the brain’s activity
while they learned. After 3 months of daily practice, the subject’s brain
showed visible growth in grey matter. Then the students were instructed not to
practice for 3 months and all that growth disappeared. This is to say that even
though 3 months may seem like a long time, it would be unrealistic to expect or
to think that one has become a maestro in just 3 months. We have to give
ourselves the latitude of more time and more consistent practice for our efforts
to pay off. In other words, it should become a lifestyle. Perhaps the problem
lies in thinking that we have won the battle when it is only half over.
There’s evidence that the brain changes much more quickly
and mysteriously than the study on juggling indicates. Alvaro Pascual – Leone,
a researcher at Harvard had volunteers practice a simple one -handed piano exercises
for 2 hours a day for 5 days. Then he looked at their brain activity. What he
found was that in only 5 days, the area of the brain that controls the fingers
was enlarged and enriched. However, he divided the piano players into 2 groups:
one of the groups continue practicing for 4 weeks while the other stopped. In the
group who stopped practicing, those changes in brain mapping had disappeared.
Most extraordinary perhaps was that there was a third group who only mentally
practiced the piano exercise while holding the hand still. This group showed
almost exactly the same brain changes after 5 days as the group who had really
practiced. So we have evidence that the brain begins to change almost
immediately with practice, whether real or imagined. But those changes will
disappear if we don’t keep practicing. The fact that mental rehearsal affects
the brain almost exactly like physical rehearsal is very good evidence that
your internal pep talk, our efforts at mindfulness, through control and will-power
will achieve their desired effect (we can sometimes be our own worst enemy
through self – doubt and self – inflicted limitations)
The discovery that the brain changes physically in
response to our life’s experience and physical environment is the biggest news in
psychology in decades. Neuroscientists now know that all habits, good or bad,
have a physical structure in the brain. So for instance the more we indulge in
bad habits, they become like railroad tracks – the only way to get from stress
to relief through unhealthy means such as drinking, having a snack, picking a
fight, getting depressed, smoking etc. all without the awareness that we have
make a decision, where our bad habits operate unconsciously, not realizing or
exploring that there are more healthier and direct ways of getting what we
need. This is one of the main reasons why it is so difficult to overcome bad
habits because they are etched in the brain. The funny thing is they don’t go
away as we practice better behaviour either; they just fall into disuse, losing
its grip on us. However care should be taken that if we are not pursuing the
things that are truly beneficial for us, the old bad habits could spring back
up.
Each time we engage in a bad habit, we make it more
likely we’ll do it again in the future. But in the same way, each time we
engage in a good habit, we make it more likely that we’ll do it again. You can
learn to program your brain so that making the right choices and exercising
will power, would make good habits come more easily and effortlessly. Focused
attention and practice, repeated over and over, will change the brain’s reward
system, causing bad habits to lose their appeal and be replaced by new, self –
constructive behaviour pattern.
Another important finding form this research is that
learning is never lost. When we are trying to break a bad habit by practicing
more constructive behaviour (eating right, exercising, being more productive
etc.) we can easily be discouraged by a bad day. We can give up and feel that
we have wasted a lot of effort but that’s not the case. Every day that you
practiced, left its traces in the brain; you can get back on the horse after a
fall and expect it soon to be easy and rewarding as ever, thanks to the muscle
memory.
Another major implication of this new discovery is about adult
brain cell generation. Until just a few years ago, it was a basic doctrine
of neurology that the adult human does not grow new brain cells. In fact, we
were thought to be losing cells continually after childhood. Now we know that
the brain produces new cells all the time. Deep in the brain, there are colonies
of rapidly dividing stem cells, which can migrate outward and replace any
specialized cell in the brain. Learning stimulates this cell division. We learn
in both the conscious and the unconscious by growing and enriching the
connections between the cells and the existing ones. Qualities we assumed which were once thought more or less fixed
from an early age whether it was intelligence, morality or co-ordination, can actually
grow, shrivel or morph into something either twisted or strong and beautiful.
It all depends on the kind of experiences we have gone through or the kind of
circumstances or situations we expose ourselves to, both voluntarily and
involuntarily. However, what if the way we struggle has become part of the
problem.
The conscious self is largely in the neocortex or in the
prefrontal cortex (as some may like to dispute it). It’s what evolution gave
humans that separates us from animals. It’s the part of the brain that is
involved in deliberate reasoning (the ability of self – consciousness which is
not found in animals). It helps us to reflect on our experience and make
thoughtful decisions on what’s good for us and what to avoid. Compared to the
unconscious, it’s much more open to new information and able to be flexible in
its response. It’s what enables us to be patient, take the long view, plan for
the future and not respond instinctively to whatever is going on right now.
When we think, the focus is on this part of the brain (neocortex/prefrontal
cortex). Because of this, we may like to think we are in charge and that we
live our lives deliberately but the fact of the matter is that our decision
making and reasoning are deeply influenced by the unconscious. This assumption
could cause us to further assume that our hearts are prone, that we usually do
the right thing, that we are better than the average in almost every way you
can imagine. Of course, this is statistically impossible, it’s just a
comforting delusion and have a million other little unconscious habits to keep
us in that comfort zone, to justify to ourselves which can support self –
destructive behaviour. We are more likely to remember times when we do right
and forget the times when we do wrong. What’s worse is when our minds get so
numb that we can be completely oblivious to what needs to be tended to and to rectify.
When we reach that stage, learning becomes difficult or even impossible. When
we don’t face a reality that will eventually hurt us, that is by definition,
self – destructive behaviour. When our feelings are in conflict with each other
or are unacceptable to us, we use defense mechanisms like denial and
rationalization to put them into the unconscious part of our minds thereby
allowing our pride to get the better of us, which is why change begins with
humility, with the sense that I need to change, something needs to be done
about it.
From a Christian standpoint, it goes beyond this. In as
much as our effort is important, nothing can happen without God’s grace and as
it is written, “My grace is sufficient for you. For virtue is perfected
in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9), it is not to sit back and be
complacent but we ought to keep giving our best, to keep fighting the good
fight (2 Timothy 4:7) with all our might, imploring the grace of God every day.
In this regard, I am reminded of what Plinio Correa de Oliveira, founder of the
Brazilian Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property, had to
say. He speaks of the “Three kinds of sinners” namely,
1.
The penitent
(they are the ones who know what they did was bad and they lament their action
and admire those who walk the right path. When they give counsel, they advise
others not to do what they did but to follow the right path)
2.
The lukewarm
(basically the person that comes under this category is indifferent. It does
not matter whether he sins or not. Such a person has sympathy for those who
commit the same sin; he does not admire those who strive towards virtue. Such a
person knows when he has done wrong but is indifferent about the sin he
committed; there is no remorse at all)
3.
The impenitent
(this is the type of sinner who has sympathy and affection for sinners and
hates those who live a life of virtue. What’s worse is that he tries to seduce
those who are on the path of virtue to commit sins and is proud of it. Such a
person is complacent when he sins)
Human as we are, there is every possibility we would fall
and perhaps we will fall but I suppose none of us would like to be under the
category of ‘Lukewarm’ or ‘Impenitent.’ What’s important is to
not give in to discouragement, to not give up. It’s important to continue to
persevere in prayer and put in the effort. Our Blessed Mother who is the refuge
of sinners will help us break away from sin if we only ask Her insistently. She
will help us receive an extraordinary grace to correct ourselves, a spiritual
nudge if you will, exhorting us to come back on track whenever we deviate from
the path we ought to follow. But the effort needs to be put. Holiness is not
going to fall on our lap nor anything for that matter, which is why in as much
as God gives His grace to each of us, it is up to us on how we use it. God is
not going to coerce us; the effort needs to come from us. There’s a nice quote
that I came across that puts this in perspective, “God gives every bird
its food but He does not throw it into its nest.”
Procrastinators often don’t really understand the
phenomenon of work. They tend to assume that other, more productive people are
always motivated and ready to go. What they don’t realize is that work comes
first and motivation follows; it is about showing up day-in and day-out,
irrespective of whether you feel like it or not. If we can make ourselves face
the task ahead of us, it’s not as bad as we think and we start to feel a little
encouraged and productive. Procrastinators also tend to assume that work should
be easy and if it is not, then it is their fault. This is an illusion leading
to self-blame to assume that those who are good at work skills always feel
confident and can finish things easily. Most people who are really successful
expect to run into roadblocks and tough and challenging times; that’s why they
call it work and it’s not your fault. If you keep waiting till you feel
motivated and confident, you may as well be waiting forever. Thus as Ed Foreman
said, “Successful people do the things that unsuccessful people don’t
like to do. They don’t enjoy doing some of the things either but they go ahead
and do them anyway” or as Mark Twain would put it, “The miracle
power that elevates the few is to be found in their industry, application and
perseverance, under the promptings of a brave determined spirit,” it is
on the path of struggle that leads us to becoming the best version of ourselves,
in becoming who God created us to be if only we apply ourselves to it. God love
you! Stay blessed!
