Rationalization Interview Essay

I have conducted an interview with a sixty-two-year-old nurse to develop a better understanding of non-sharable problems and of rationalization. I was surprised with the understanding of these terms my interviewee had without really hearing the terms used often in her life. She told me of encounters she has had personally with rationalization and non-sharable problems, and she also told me of stories of co-workers and friends who faced similar issues. The main thing I took away from the interview is that everyone has great knowledge that is not noticed at first glance, but by opening up to them you can learn a great deal. After explaining the concept of rationalization to my interviewee they had the perfect story to share with me. She worked …show more content…
She was a two-pack a day smoker for twenty years. She kept attempting to quit smoking but was never quite successful. In her own head she thought she wanted to quit, but she would constantly come up with excuses. At the time, she did not realize she was rationalizing, but with hindsight being perfect she can see her flaws. She would tell herself she only needed one cigarette and then she would finally stop. Then, maybe the next time she tried to quit she would tell herself she was going to ease off it and just have a few less cigarettes a day. The bottom line is she would keep making up tiny excuses as to why she could not quit. She was taking the easy way out, and that only lead her away from her goal. Eventually, she was able to quit. She stopped feeding herself the nonsense of “needing one more cigarette” or saying she only had one because it was a tough day. She through rationalization aside and because of that she reached her goal. She has not smoked a cigarette in ten years and her breathing is better today than it was then because of it. This was a great example of how if you truly reflect on your day-to-day actions you can make a difference and get rid of rationalization. It is hard to see the truth sometimes. It hides behind all the little lies that you will constantly tell yourself to make your life easier. It takes bravery to stand up to it, but if that is done you can truly overcome rationalization