This is hidden brain.
I'm Shankar Vedantam.
In nearly every dimension of our lives, we have two selves.
We have the self that knows what the right thing is to do, and then we have well, ourselves.
In high school, we know that hard work and preparation are crucial to success.
But when it comes time to choose between study and play, many of us choose the easy path.
As adults, we know that kindness and civility are what allow communities to function.
Yet when we are late or upset, we often act impulsively.
We know that we should visit elderly parents or stay in touch with friends who have fallen on hard times.
We know we should exercise regularly and make the time to eat healthy.
We know sleep and social connection are engines for contentment and well being.
We know these things.
But it is so tempting to settle a little deeper into the couch, crack open a fizzy drink, and let Netflix auto stream another episode of our favorite television show.
Over the last several decades, the psychologist Elliot Aronson has worked to understand how our minds justify our actions.
We explored the origins of Eliot's research in the previous episode.
If you missed it, I strongly recommend you start there and listen to it.
First, we looked at the curious ways cognitive dissonance works, and we examined the clash between two of Elliot's mentors, the famous psychologists Abraham Maslow and Leon Festinger.
This week on hidden brain psychological jujitsu how to use your mind to get your mind to do what your mind would rather not do in one of Aesop's fables, a fox notices a bunch of grapes high up on a vine.
The grapes look delicious, and the fox's mouth starts to water.
The fox jumps as high as it can, but fails to reach the grapes.