The Biggest Life Skill You Can Master Is Getting Comfy With ‘Cognitive Dissonance’
5 common examples of conflicting beliefs and how to deal with them
With ‘The Great Resignation’ underway, many people I know (including myself) have recently left jobs and started new ones. For that reason, it’s been a common conversation topic to discuss that very unique, very uncomfortable situation where you know you are doing the right thing by leaving, but simultaneously have the conflicting sensations of guilt and nostalgia for your former post.
“I feel like I’m losing my mind — I feel so torn and uncomfortable” said a friend of mine who found herself mourning the loss of her old role, despite feeling angry at them for not providing the pay rise she wanted which forced her to leave in the first place.
Welcome to Cognitive Dissonance — the term given for “the mental discomfort that results from holding two conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes”, as described by Kendra Cherry.
While ‘Cognitive Dissonance’ sounds like a complicated, rare phenomenon, it is actually an incredibly common sensation that creeps up in our everyday lives:
“Cognitive dissonance is ever-present in both the smallest, simplest examples to the deepest layers of humanity that impact…
