How to Hack Optimism Bias in Your Writing
We are distorting our reality without knowing, making it appear better than it is
Daniel Kahneman, a behavioural economist, observed: “Most of us view the world as more benign than it really is, our own attributes as more favourable than they truly are, and the goals we adopt as more achievable than they are likely to be.”
Let’s be frank — do you think you’re a better writer than you actually are? How optimistic are you in landing your articles in publications? When answering these questions, you will notice bias. And while it’s great to have that pushing you to continue writing, it can be bad thinking untoward events can’t happen to me, only to others. We underestimate reality. Here’s how and what to do instead:
1. Loss aversion
My 5-year old only seems to remember the times I say no to him compared to the number of times I say yes. It has made me more aware of how I react more to rejections than I do to acceptance. It’s natural to focus more on setbacks than on progress. However, it discourages you from starting and interferes with your progress. When we experience this with writing, we are resistant to change. I know I was initially.
