{"id":690,"date":"2008-09-08T06:00:56","date_gmt":"2008-09-08T10:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/practice-what-you-preach\/"},"modified":"2013-08-19T08:56:03","modified_gmt":"2013-08-19T16:56:03","slug":"practice-what-you-preach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/practice-what-you-preach\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Practice What You Preach"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Life is full of contradictions.\u00a0 People say they want health food, but McDonalds still makes billions of dollars each year.\u00a0 People say they want to work satisfying jobs, but end up chasing after the biggest paycheck.\u00a0 People say they want news on world affairs, but tune into 24\/7 coverage of Anna Nicole Smith.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m no different.\u00a0 I have plenty of contradictions between what I truly believe and how I behave.\u00a0 And I think anyone who says they don\u2019t is lying to themselves.\u00a0 Practicing what you preach isn\u2019t easy.\u00a0 It may be impossible to do it completely.<\/p>\n

But even if you can\u2019t escape the contradictions of modern living, you can lessen their impact.\u00a0 You can consult what you know to be true, and use that to guide you, instead of rationalizing your behavior and living a lie.<\/p>\n

Cognitive Dissonance<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cognitive dissonance is a fancy psychological term for something incredibly simple: when people hold two contradicting ideas, their minds start to fry.\u00a0 This can be something simple like, \u201cI believe health is important\u201d and \u201cI just finished eating a bag of potato chips.\u201d
\n
\nYour mind can\u2019t handle the contradiction, as a result it has to go through one of two directions.\u00a0 The first is rationalizing: \u201cI deserve the bag of chips, it\u2019s been a hard day.\u201d\u00a0 This is the easiest option, but it has long-term consequences.\u00a0 Eliezer Yudkowsky has said, \u201cRationalization is an odd word, because it has nothing to do with thinking rationality.\u00a0 It\u2019s like calling lying \u2018truthification\u2019.\u201d\u00a0 Whenever you start rationalizing a decision, you\u2019re taken a shortcut that might make you feel better, but often ends in a poor choice.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The second option when you face a contradiction is to realize that one of the two ideas is false.\u00a0 Either your belief that something is true is mistaken, or your behavior was incorrect.\u00a0 Either you don\u2019t believe health is important, or you shouldn\u2019t have eaten that bag of potato chips.<\/p>\n

I think this second direction is much harder to accomplish than rationalization, and why it\u2019s easier to rationalize a mistake than it is to use that mistake to make changes.<\/p>\n

Start With the Truth…<\/strong><\/p>\n

You can resolve a lot of personal conflicts by starting with a simple question: \u201cWhat is true?\u201d<\/p>\n

Based on your personal experience and knowledge, ask yourself what is true.\u00a0 Answer this question before you factor in your current behavior.\u00a0 If you feel drinking or smoking is bad for you, recognize this first.\u00a0 You can worry about your habits later, the first step in fixing a contradiction always has to be with your current beliefs.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to recognize what is true, even if you\u2019re powerless to change it.\u00a0 You might hate your job, but be completely financially committed to stay there.\u00a0 That\u2019s okay, it\u2019s better to know the truth of your position than to constantly lie to yourself that it isn\u2019t so bad, or that work is supposed to be distasteful.<\/p>\n

Resolving contradictions can be hard, because most people try to prevent any gaps in their behavior and beliefs.\u00a0 So if they can\u2019t change their behavior, they sacrifice their beliefs, lying to themselves about what they know to be true.\u00a0 This is why separating the truth-acknowledging step from the behavior-changing step is so important.<\/p>\n

…Then Fix the Habits<\/strong><\/p>\n

Once you fully acknowledge what you know to be true, you can start the process of changing your behaviors.\u00a0 This isn\u2019t easy.\u00a0 Changing habits can be difficult, especially when the habit has been interlinked into much of your life.<\/p>\n

It can be even more difficult to fix situations that are based on more than just behavior.\u00a0 A job isn\u2019t just a habit, it\u2019s also a financial commitment that can be difficult to sever, especially if you don\u2019t have the resources to.<\/p>\n

However, the job of practicing what you believe becomes infinitely easier if you have first acknowledged the truth of the situation.\u00a0 If you can realize the truth, you will eventually adjust your behavior and life to coincide with it\u2013even if that is difficult at first.<\/p>\n

Begin With Little Steps<\/strong><\/p>\n

I made the switch to a vegetarian diet three years ago after reading The China Study and similar books emphasizing the health and ecological benefits.\u00a0 (Don\u2019t worry if you\u2019re a carnivore, I\u2019m not interested in changing your mind.)\u00a0 Before I made the switch, I still ate a lot of meat.\u00a0 As soon as I realized I believed it was healthier, and that health was important to me, I didn\u2019t magically change.\u00a0 It took time to shift my behaviors and habits towards what I felt to be true.<\/p>\n

The same thing happened when I first learned about running an online business.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t immediately change all my plans and start building a business.\u00a0 It took time and patience to change my goals and even longer to succeed at it.<\/p>\n

I think the most important step to fixing your contradictions is to realize you have them.\u00a0 Many people rationalize them away so there is never a gap between behavior and truth.\u00a0 Only the people who have gaps, the ones who aren\u2019t living at their ideal capacity, are the people who can grow and improve.<\/p>\n

If you perfectly practice what you preach<\/strong>, then you probably aren\u2019t doing either very well.<\/p>\n

If you enjoyed this article please vote for it on Digg<\/strong> and Stumble Upon<\/strong>. Thanks :). <\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Life is full of contradictions.\u00a0 People say they want health food, but McDonalds still makes billions of dollars each year.\u00a0 People say they want to work satisfying jobs, but end up chasing after the biggest paycheck.\u00a0 People say they want … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12163,"featured_media":691,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[6],"tags":[2952,2951],"yoast_head":"\nPractice What You Preach<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I\u2019m no different. I have plenty of contradictions between what I truly believe and how I behave. And I think anyone who says they don\u2019t is lying to themselves. Practicing what you preach isn\u2019t easy. 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