
Study Identifies Effective Mental Strategies for Aversive Challenges - Dowwie
https://digest.bps.org.uk/2019/01/14/study-identifies-the-most-effective-mental-strategies-that-people-use-to-get-through-aversive-challenges/
======
bcheung
I'm surprised that one of the most effective strategies I've ever come across
is not on the list.

The most effective strategy I have come across is to "change your identity".
If you identify as an athlete, and you talk to yourself and others with that
expectation, then that is much more effective than "I need to get in better
shape".

When you identify with something it compels your actions, almost by default,
much more than willpower alone.

~~~
jpfed
Similarly, if you want to give up e.g. soda, don't say "I can't drink soda".
That's just some arbitrary restriction imposed on you. Instead, say "I _don
't_ drink soda". That's part of who you are now- you're a person that doesn't
drink soda.

------
ccvannorman
Personal experience, Re: Treadmill task + "thinking the end is near" strategy.
Personally I do the opposite, and pretend I actually have 20 miles to run when
in fact it is only 2. That helps me get into the mindset of running for a long
period of time and I settle in for the long haul. That way, 2 miles is done
before I seem to think much time has passed relative to the whole journey.

Conversely, if I focus on the 2 mile mark (for example) and glance at the
meter to see that I've only traveled 0.6 miles, it's quite frustrating. Each
successive glance shows a marginal increase towards the goal, adding to
fatigue. Better not to watch the clock at all.

~~~
prestonh
My own experience confirms that article's point (for myself, at least) as a
negative example. I tend to, maybe because of my academic background, view the
end of a project as always on the horizon, never near. That subtlety in my
mindset I think affects the way I approach work. I constantly want to reactor,
rebuild, and extend the functionality of projects rather than focusing on just
wrapping up the damn things and moving on. I recognized this earlier, but dont
think I fully appreciated its impact until I read this article.

------
mtVessel
"...greater use of effective strategies did not explain the persistence of the
grittier types"

"however...the greater use of these two effective strategies did not explain
why these high trait self-control individuals tended to enjoy greater success
at aversive challenges"

So, in fact, this study identified which strategies were effective in people
who were (self-reportedly) already effective at handling aversive tasks.

------
jakubp
This is an excellent list of strategies, really good breakdown that maybe be
useful in facilitating behavioral change.

What I find surprising is the lack of mindfulness on the list, i.e. employing
mindful awareness to an activity as a way to deal with it.

~~~
zeroxfe
I think that was "Adopting a process focus" on the list. (Which is something
that works well for me too.)

~~~
jakubp
Hm. I interpreted it as being aware of where i am in activity, how I do parts
of it, kind of trying to do it well and recognizing where i am in the process.

Mindfulness to me would be just To continually bring awareness to whatever I
feel, sense, think, without connection to a process.

If there are averse conditions, running away from what we feel is the opposite
of mindfulness and any directed way of distracting/framing the situation would
be going away from mindful appreciation of the very aversive situation.

------
x220
Strange that they didn't give all test subjects a Big Five trait assessment
and figure out if their conscientiousness score explained their effectiveness
more than the strategies they used. I guess if you're trying to push papers
out the door you'll not do proper things like this so that your own ideas seem
more important.

~~~
bcheung
Is there a standardized test for conscientiousness or is it more just an
abstract concept?

~~~
x220
Go look up studies done about the Big Five trait model. It's very standardized
and reliable between different assessments on the same individual and across
cultures.

------
mindrunner
Here is the actual study it is referring to: [Doing despite disliking -
[http://images.transcontinentalmedia.com/LAF/lacom/disliking....](http://images.transcontinentalmedia.com/LAF/lacom/disliking.pdf)

