Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive dissonance. 

The definition of cognitive dissonance is, "the inconsistency between one's actions and one's beliefs."

When you begin to examine this you may find that some of the discomfort you are feeling in life may be based on this disharmony.  You tell yourself one thing, but your actions say another. For me this occurred recently when we moved to the apartment. Chuck and I had been recycling for years at our home in Frisco, and with curbside recycling it had actually become quite convenient. In fact, we found ourselves feeling guilty if we failed to do so. 

After moving to the apartment I misinterpreted the recycling policy, and basically for two months threw all our recycling into the trash. Each time I threw away something that could be recycled I found myself feeling guilty. Recycling had become so ingrained in my belief system that to not do so was causing a huge case of cognitive dissonance. For me my beliefs AND my actions should align. This is probably why I am such a rule follower. 

A quick phone call to the front office provided clarity about the recycling policy, and a trip down to the office to claim the blue recycling bags, and I was a happy camper. All was well with the world, and I happily began recycling again. 

The act of aligning my beliefs and actions by changing my actions is one way to combat cognitive dissonance. Another would have been to change my beliefs. Perhaps I could have convinced myself that recycling wasn't really all that important, and probably wouldn't have made any difference at all in the long run.  A third alternative would have been to change my attitude. Maybe I could have justified my actions by convincing myself that it would be okay not to recycle here as long as I began recycling again when I moved to my next house.

If you are finding yourself out of sorts over something it might be a case of cognitive dissonance. Changing your beliefs, or your actions or your perception of them might help bring things back in balance for you.