Our divided self is a very interesting topic with many different ways to interpret how we make

decisions based on our beliefs and values. Within the book, The Happiness Hypothesis written
by Johnathan Haidt the comparison of our decisions and life choices is made with a man
controlling the reins of an elephant. When controlling the reins the man has control for the most
part until the elephant has desires of its own, which at the point the man has no control. After
contemplating this metaphor which Haidt decided to use for the majority of his book it becomes
clear to me how true this statement is. Personally, each day I wake up I am faced with decisions
that are good or bad for me. More times than not these bad decisions are the ones that seem
the most intriguing to me. For the most part, however, I can stay in control, but sometimes my
desires can overrule my responsibilities leading to a bad decision. Showing the connection of
the man controlling the reigns of an elephant. For the most part, the man can stay in control but
if that elephant decides to go another way it can become extremely difficult to stay in control
leading you down another path. When it comes to focusing on the decision-making process, the
YouTube video “Thinking Fast and Slow” by Dan Kahneman provides some great ideas and
insights. The video focuses on the three cognitive biases described as FaST which describes
how many people make decisions. The first of the three reasons is frequent exposure which
explains how seeing something on a frequent basis or hearing a word being used can ultimately
make someone believe that this action or word is good. For instance, when growing up my
parents would sometimes use cuss words, and then eventually, I would think it was okay to say
them until I got in trouble for using them. The next of the three reasons is status quo bias which
is when people create a bias towards a certain subject whether it is right or wrong. The last of
the three reasons is shown to be tunnel vision in which people are so focused on one point of
view that they forget to look at all other outcomes. An example of this would be when my
parents would tell me something that they believe to be fact, and I automatically accept it to be
true without looking into all the other alternatives. Overall this video depicts how my biases can
create fast thinking in turn leading to wrong decisions. Without slowing down and contemplating
some of these decisions I make, it could lead to negative outcomes. Another source I decided to
focus on would be “Why Preparation Trumps Will Power” which focuses on how knowing there
is some desire could lead the elephant down the wrong path preparation could stop you from
making that wrong turn. An example of this would be me personally. I used to vape, until one
day when I decided to quit. At the beginning of this process, it became very difficult for me to
resist that urge since all my friends did it and I was around it a lot. Knowing this I created ways
to advertise myself from that want. Every time I wanted to hit one I would do ten pushups, or I
would always be chewing gum just to distract myself from doing what I knew was wrong. Till this
day I use some of those tools to distract myself from that want and not allow the so-called
elephant to go down a different path. Overall it’s clear that everyone and I deal with the idea of
the man controlling the reins of an elephant, and sometimes the elephant following its own
desires is inevitable. However, there are ways to make yourself better and learn to control
yourself with careful thought processes and working on it as time goes on.

Work Cited
 “Why Preparation, Not Willpower, Is the Key to Mastering Self-Restraint | Ae

on Videos.” Aeon, aeon.covideos why-preparation- not-willpower-is -t

he-key-to-mastering-self-restraint.

Productivity Game. “THINKING, FAST and SLOW by Daniel Kahneman | Core

Message.” YouTube, 7 Feb. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v= UO4BN

lFkCZY.

Productivity Game. “THINKING, FAST and SLOW by Daniel Kahneman | Core

Message.” YouTube, 7 Feb. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch ?

v=UO4BNlFkCZY.