I like how things are 🍽 — Status Quo Bias
What are you willing to gain, your default settings, and one habit that breaks the status quo mindset.
My kids have two favorite restaurants. Every time we are eating out, they want to go to either of those. Every time, they order the same things from the menu. As much as they relished the dumplings 🥟 in one and wood-fired pizza 🍕 in the other one, I want them to try new places and new cuisines.
Preferring the same dining places and menu options isn’t limited to kids. I also know adults who’d rather go for the ‘tried-and-tested’ instead of regretting the new dish they ordered.
It’s not just about dining. The tendency to stay in the comfort zone spills into all areas of life.
We stick to the same job/school, house, neighborhood, investments, eating habits, and exercise habits (or not having one), even if they don’t serve us well.
Just like our smartphones keep updating to the latest software, we need to keep our life updated. Otherwise, we are missing out on the exciting new features (experiences) life has to offer.
The preference to keep things as they are and avoid change to the current state of affairs is called the Status Quo bias.
Researchers William Samuelson & Richard Zeckhauser first came up with this bias in their detailed research on the topic.
The status quo bias isn’t limited to humans. Have you ever seen an animal defending its territory?
A biologist observed that when a ‘territory holder’ is challenged by a rival, the former almost always wins. That too, within seconds. Although both of them want to win, the territory holder fights much harder.
All animals, including humans, fight harder to prevent losses than to achieve gains. Be it territory or coffee mugs!
What are you willing to lose?
Richard Thaler, Daniel Kahneman and Jack Knetsch conducted an experiment to study how people react to losses and gains.
Now called the famous ‘mug experiment’, half of the participating students were given a mug with University logo, rest half were not given the mugs. All the students were asked how much would they be willing to pay for the mug.
The ones who had the mugs were willing to pay more than the ones who didn’t have the mug. More, in most cases, turns out to be almost double 😮.
Associating more value with what one possesses is called the Endowment Effect.
Similar experiments have been conducted worldwide with similar results. Once you own something, you value it more than you would otherwise.
People are loss averse. They are more likely to not lose something they own than gain something new.
Instead of asking ourselves, “What are you willing to lose?”, we need to pay more attention to, “What are you willing to gain?”
Sticking to defaults
As we don’t want to lose what we have, we keep things going even when they stop benefitting us.
We tend to stick to the default settings.
You might need to change your electricity or internet provider because they aren’t offering you the best rates any more.
There might be an automatic renewal of subscription that needs canceling as you’re not using the service any more.
You might need to update your investment policy, your bank, your credit card, but you’re stuck with the defaults.
As I enjoy running, my lower body gets enough exercise. My upper body, on the other hand, lacks strength 🫤. My brother recently got me TRX bands to help me out.
In case you don’t know, TRX bands are a simple way of building core strength. You can suspend these bands from ceiling or a secure bar. When you hold them and lean away, your body is forced to balance. It works your core and activates your muscles.
Being a total noob, I started with 10 reps of simple arm pulls. It was minimum effort. Problem: I made that my default!
Thankfully, my brother checked in with me few days later and talked some sense into me (“Start with at least three sets of ten, you lazy bum!” were the exact words.) 😅
Sticking to defaults isn’t always about loss aversion. Sometimes, it’s unawareness. It’s procrastination. We are lazy to research and find the best option.
We are too lazy to find out new recipes so we keep cooking the same meals.
We are too lazy to find out other forms of exercise so we keep repeating the same sets.
We are too lazy to find out better investment options so we keep paying the hefty interest.
But for the biggish things in life that you’re holding on to your dear life (a failing relationship, miserable job, etc.) maybe it’s neither loss aversion nor lethargy. Maybe it’s the fear of failure.
In this article, Nik Göke nails the simplest solution to breaking the status quo. Don’t let the fear of failur hold you back. Don’t overthink. Just do it.
Sometimes, taking action is all that is needed to break the status quo.
A habit that breaks the status quo mindset
Just like we keep updating software on our devices, it’s important we check our habits from time to time.
See which ones are serving us, which ones exists just because we want to keep doing what we’re doing. Delete the latter from your life.
One habit that helps break the status quo mindset is adopting the mindset of a forever learner.
It’s extraordinary how resistant some people are to learning anything.
— Charlie Munger
In spite of knowing that learning is the best way to keep our mind sharp, we stop learning after the formal education is over.
Learning doesn’t need to be in the area of your profession. In fact, the more diverse your learning is, the smarter you become.
Tiny challenge for the week
As a challenge for yourself, pick a new skill to learn. A language, an instrument, sketching, cooking a new cuisine, anything that interests you.
Seema, a dear friend of mine loves storytelling. Brahma, another dear friend loves bird photography. These are the skills they picked up purely out of interest.
What is it that you want to learn?
I recently stumbled upon growing plants indoors and I’m looking forward to the new learnings ahead. More on it in weeks to come. I’m looking forward to the new changes that it will bring to my home.
For those who are resistant to changes, here are golden words from Tony Robbins.
Your body is going to change whether you want it or not, as the year goes by. The economy is going to change no matter what you want it to do. The weather is going to change. Relationships are going to change. Everything in life is changing, you don’t have to work on change. Change is automatic but progress is not.
— Tony Robbins
You can’t control change but you can control your progress.
To beat the status quo, develop a forever learner mindset. Keep progressing.
About our family outings, we finally reached an agreement. We’ll be trying out five new restaurants before we revisit the two favorites. In the process, I’m hoping to see many more added to the list of favorites 😉.