CBA Record July-August 2021

Y O U N G L A W Y E R S J O U R N A L

Beyond Binary Thinking By Erin Conlon

S hould I stay or should I go? In- house or law firm? Is this right or wrong? What is better: the beach or the mountains? Are you a cat person or a dog person? These are all examples of ways that binary thinking shows up in everyday life. Most of the time, we are not aware of what we are thinking about, let alone how we are thinking about things. Simultane- ously, no one thinks in quite the same way that you do – even if you spend years trying to get on the same wavelength. Frameworks: HowWe Think I am not a neuroscientist, so I cannot say exactly how the brain works. But what I do know is that we all have patterns that shape how we think about the world, understand things, problem solve, and more. For our purposes, we will call these patterns “frameworks.” Frameworks can be determinative – what is inside the framework is possible, what remains outside is unseen. Frame- works make people believe they have the whole picture, but they cut off the whole world outside of the framework. Imagine a photograph of a beach – people are play- ing, the surf is calm, someone is applying

sunscreen, etc. When that picture was taken many other things were happening in that moment, but we have no idea what they were because this is what the lens captured. In much the same way, when we look through certain frameworks, the world appears to make sense because the information presented paints a picture we understand. We are all susceptible to these types of thought patterns throughout our lives. What Is Binary Thinking? Binary thinking is a framework where everything in the world gets categorized in one of two ways. Common frameworks in binary thinking are: “right or wrong”; “this or that”; “us or them”; and “me or you.” Sometimes the framework is oppositional, such as “good versus evil.” Occasionally it is about time, such as “now or never.” The commonality is that there are always two choices, and usually one is the right choice. This is especially common in the legal sphere. Because binary thinking has an inher- ent “right” answer, when we get things right it proves to the world that we are smart and good at something. At work it means that we are a good performer. If we

are performing well, then we can be more assured that we are valuable, and thus, safe. Meaning, we get to keep the things for which we have worked. That feeling of righteousness and safety is like being wrapped in a pillow of our own making. And yet, binary thinking can be incredibly limiting. We are complicated beings living in a multi-faceted world. We know that often there is no right answer, but binary thinking keeps telling us that there must be one. If we have not found the right answer, then we need to stay where we are physically, mentally, strategically, and spiritually until we figure it out. Here is the truth: binary thinking is not an inherently bad thing, and it is not even something you need to fix. You can live your whole life within this frame- work and have an amazing career, great relationships, good health, and tons of love and fun. What you can ask yourself is not “is this good or bad?”, but rather “is this limiting me or my possibilities? If so, do I want to change?” Going Beyond the Binary To move beyond binary thinking, you must be willing to practice something

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