Description
This is the feeling of uncomfortable tension which comes from holding two conflicting thoughts in the mind at the same time.
Dissonance increases with:
- The importance of the subject to us.
- How strongly the dissonant thoughts conflict.
- Our inability to rationalize and explain away the conflict.
Around the same time last year, I was forced to make a tough choice. Sleepless nights, mild anxiety and a lot of unnecessary reasoning. Until, I decided one morning to drop it. You know something is not meant to be when you don't find peace at the point of making that decision. I hate sitting on the fence, but it turned out just fine. I don't know where the other path would have led me, but the current one is the one less trod.
Choices. It's difficult when you're presented with two equally good options. When you pick one (or neither), the best thing to do is not look back.
Cognitive dissonance is a very powerful motivator which will often lead us to change one or other of the conflicting belief or action. The discomfort often feels like a tension between the two opposing thoughts. To release the tension we can take one of three actions:
- Change our behavior.
- Justify our behavior by changing the conflicting cognition.
- Justify our behavior by adding new cognitions.
http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/cognitive_dissonance.htm