Permanence Bias Tricks You Into Giving Up — But No Matter What You Do, This Too Shall Pass

So give it your 110% while you can

The 15 minutes before an interview starts are the worst.

I check my outfit, rehearse my greeting, and try to guess what questions they might ask. My heart beats faster, my mind fixates, and my foot won’t stop tapping.

The 15 minutes after an interview ends are the best.

I exit the building, treat myself to a drink, and get on with my life. My heart rate slows, my mind expands to take in my surroundings, and my feet gladly bring me away from the source of stress.

There Are Several Ways to Get Through a Difficult Situation

The first is good ol’ willpower.

It’s when I decide to trudge through the interview, one word at a time. Only sheer will is keeping me from running out of the glass doors.

Willpower works, but it’s not always reliable. Sometimes, you hit your breaking point.

The second method is motivation.

The promise of a job, the satisfaction of acing the interview, the drive to do your best.

Motivation is cool, but by itself is not enough. It’s easy to get comfortable — you can convince yourself you don’t need the reward and satisfaction.

The third method is a negative drive.

If motivation is the carrot, negative drive is the stick.

The urge to prove the haters wrong, the anger of doing it alone, the fear of settling for less in life.

These 3 methods will get you through the race. But there is a fourth method most people don’t use that is extremely useful.

Permanence Bias

Anticipation is a breeding ground for dopamine and anxiety, depending on the situation.

You’re so close to the finish line — you feel excited, anxious, motivated, and stubborn.

But is it enough to get you to run past the stitches, the burn in your legs and the feeling that stopping would feel so much better?

Most people give up when they are so close to finishing their metaphorical races because they don’t want to deal with the pain they feel in the present.

They don’t realise the race is going to be over no matter what they do.

This is permanence bias — the tendency to overemphasise the present situation, thinking it’ll last forever.

(Dr. Lickerman describes this as the illusion of permanence. Dr. Gilbert explains a similar bias called the end-of-history illusion, but that illusion focuses more on the permanence of self rather than on the situation we are in.)

This Too Shall Pass (No Matter What You Do)

You’re in the gym → There’ll always be a time when you’ll be out of the gym — would you rather do that extra rep or settle for enough?

You’re about to give a speech → There’ll always be a time when you’re going to be done with the speech — would you rather give the speech of your life or stumble your way through?

You’re cold now, but you’ll always be warm later. Are you going to jump out of the water, only to wonder 15 minutes later what could’ve happened if you stayed in? Or are you going to keep swimming?

You’re thinking about what you could’ve been. I am exactly where I should’ve been. — David Goggins

Everything is impermanent.

But the fear, excitement, and nervousness we feel during anticipation exaggerate the importance of the situation.

The interview seemed so big, but like all else, this too shall pass.

The constant passage of time will make sure of that.

The question is, how do you want to come out on the other side?

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