Framing a question, study, or a marketing scheme makes a huge impact on the outcomes. For example, consider how doctors often speak of surgeries. They can say either one of the phrases below:

A: The survival rate is 90%.

B: There is a 10% mortality rate.

The sentences provide the same information. However, surgery was more favored from Phrase A vs. Phrase B. This is due to how the surgery was framed.

In another experiment, two gambles are framed with the word KEEP or LOSE. The outcome of the gamble is actually the same, but our minds tend to be biased towards the word KEEP versus LOSE.

It seems that it would be in our best interest to reframe decisions to find a different point of view. But, reframing is effortful and requires System 2 to step in. As we know, our System 2 is quite lazy and “unless there is an obvious reason to do otherwise, most of us passively accept decision problems as they are framed and therefore rarely have an opportunity to discover the extent to which our preferences are frame-bound rather than reality-bound.” (Thinking, Fast and Slow, Loc 6677)

Priming of a day seems similar to framing of questions. Our minds can easily be manipulated by simply framing questions. I believe this is why priming can do wonders.

By priming ourselves throughout the day to look for what we want to see, then our minds start to look out for what we want.

Personally, I prime my days in the morning by telling myself that “today is going to be an awesome day.” I’m framing my day with “awesome” to bring a positive spin to my days. This is actually quite difficult for me, because I currently struggle with constant negative thoughts. So priming my mind to look for “awesome” things throughout the day is a big part of my effort to get out of my negative thinking pattern.

As I continue the priming practice in the morning, the hope is that my mind will start to frame activities and decisions in a more positive mindset as the day unfolds. The more I read into Thinking, Fast and Slow, the more I realize that our minds are very pliable and can be reprogramed. We are not stuck in the mindset that we are at. We can overcome bad habits and patterns with the right mindset.