Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Bees, Humans, Risk & Happiness
The June 17th headline reads: Decision-Making, Risk-Taking Similar In Bees And Humans. Of course, I had to click through. Here's the lead paragraph:
Most people think before making decisions. As it turns out, so do bees. In the journal Nature, Israeli researchers show that when making decisions, people and bees alike are more likely to gamble on risky courses of action - rather than taking a safer option - when the differences between the various possible outcomes are easily distinguishable. When the outcomes are difficult to discern, however, both groups are far more likely to select the safer option - even if the actual probabilities of success have not changed.
The study was done by the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and one of the institute's professors of Industrial Engineering and Management opined on the significance of the research in terms of workplace rule enforcement, but I was more interested in the phrases "people and bees alike are more likely to gamble on risky courses of action...when the differences between the various possible outcomes are easily distinguishable."
This phrase made me think of my teacher's (Daniel Silberberg's) comments at a meditation retreat last Saturday on "beliefs." We were studying beliefs that we hold that get in the way of success, fulfillment, and happiness, identifying some core beliefs we could afford to let go of. Daniel commented on how so often, when we're unhappy with our life or work or relationships, we believe that if we make a change that we will likely draw the short stick, namely that things will in fact get worse. Daniel encouraged us to observe beliefs that get in the way of having what we most want and to really challenge these beliefs (i.e., what evidence do we actually have that things will get worse?!).
The bees and humans and decisions article made me reflect on how much easier it is to choose a better job when it's quantitatively better (better hours, better workplace environment, better pay, closer to home). When the positive differences we can sense (see, hear, touch) are less clear (e.g., will working for myself under conditions of ambiguity feel better than working for a boss or an organization that I find uninspiring?), most of us can remain stuck, biased toward the safer course of action.
In coaching, we often talk about the importance of offering "distinctions with power" for our clients. If we can find the right language to distinguish current experience from desired outcomes and states, our clients can "gamble on" seemingly "risky courses of action."
A lot of clients are wishing for more happiness, but it keeps eluding them. Daniel talked on Saturday about how often people hold the belief that happiness is akin to a destination, a place at which you can arrive (if you're successful enough, if you're enlightened enough, if you're thin enough, whatever your theory of happiness revolves around). He went on to talk about the quality of being with each moment, as it is, and how this capacity provides for genuine happiness.
Since the whole concept of distinctions was what caught my eye in the first place, I would like to share how Aristotle distinguished three ostensible paths to happiness (he was a fan of door number 3, by the way):
Most people think before making decisions. As it turns out, so do bees. In the journal Nature, Israeli researchers show that when making decisions, people and bees alike are more likely to gamble on risky courses of action - rather than taking a safer option - when the differences between the various possible outcomes are easily distinguishable. When the outcomes are difficult to discern, however, both groups are far more likely to select the safer option - even if the actual probabilities of success have not changed.
The study was done by the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and one of the institute's professors of Industrial Engineering and Management opined on the significance of the research in terms of workplace rule enforcement, but I was more interested in the phrases "people and bees alike are more likely to gamble on risky courses of action...when the differences between the various possible outcomes are easily distinguishable."
This phrase made me think of my teacher's (Daniel Silberberg's) comments at a meditation retreat last Saturday on "beliefs." We were studying beliefs that we hold that get in the way of success, fulfillment, and happiness, identifying some core beliefs we could afford to let go of. Daniel commented on how so often, when we're unhappy with our life or work or relationships, we believe that if we make a change that we will likely draw the short stick, namely that things will in fact get worse. Daniel encouraged us to observe beliefs that get in the way of having what we most want and to really challenge these beliefs (i.e., what evidence do we actually have that things will get worse?!).
The bees and humans and decisions article made me reflect on how much easier it is to choose a better job when it's quantitatively better (better hours, better workplace environment, better pay, closer to home). When the positive differences we can sense (see, hear, touch) are less clear (e.g., will working for myself under conditions of ambiguity feel better than working for a boss or an organization that I find uninspiring?), most of us can remain stuck, biased toward the safer course of action.
In coaching, we often talk about the importance of offering "distinctions with power" for our clients. If we can find the right language to distinguish current experience from desired outcomes and states, our clients can "gamble on" seemingly "risky courses of action."
A lot of clients are wishing for more happiness, but it keeps eluding them. Daniel talked on Saturday about how often people hold the belief that happiness is akin to a destination, a place at which you can arrive (if you're successful enough, if you're enlightened enough, if you're thin enough, whatever your theory of happiness revolves around). He went on to talk about the quality of being with each moment, as it is, and how this capacity provides for genuine happiness.
Since the whole concept of distinctions was what caught my eye in the first place, I would like to share how Aristotle distinguished three ostensible paths to happiness (he was a fan of door number 3, by the way):
- The Voluptuary's path -- the enjoyment of sensual and material pleasures (i.e., more things, more experiences, more pleasure).
- The Sultan's path -- the pursuit of honor (i.e., more accomplishment, power, status, admiration, more honor).
- The Sage's path -- the pursuit of wisdom (i.e., more understanding of how cause and effect really works, what constitutes goodness in relationships and community and politics, more wisdom).
More things, more accomplishment, it's not what brings happiness, and I know this as well as the next person, but it's still easy for me to fall into the "doing and acquiring" routine when I'm not paying attention.
It takes a little help (from teachers like Daniel and fellow journeyers) to distinguish between the risks and rewards of the familiar path in contrast with those of the Sage's path. When it comes to happiness, what's really riskier?
Sigh. I guess this is why we have relatively long lives, so we can, just like the bees, "select the safer option" and also revise our bets when a more satisfying future becomes "easily distinguishable" (read: compelling enough for us to choose!).
Life work, indeed.
# posted by Cindy Marteney @ 10:37 AM 
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