Cognitive Dissonance XIII

Bringing in the Troops

John Pistorius

In the beginning of this series I described my understanding of the term cognitive dissonance. I’ve also given reference to the author of the theory, Leon Festinger. Throughout these essays, I’ve shared some of my personal experiences with various degrees of cognitive dissonance. And I’ve told of some strategies which I’ve learned that can be used to short circuit it. In this piece, I plan to reveal more of my understanding of the short circuiting process with you.

I’ve previously expressed the matter of choosing between our belief and the new evidence. Nevertheless, I know that we must realize and understand that we have the power to choose. To make a choice we must know that we actually have one. That is where “bringing in the troops” comes into play.

Basic Training
I started bringing my anti-cognitive dissonance troops into action on paper as written statements. These reflected and expressed my fight as I battled with the dissonance that I was experiencing. When I started, I wrote out my first statement and then revised it to be as accurate as possible. As I’ve shared in the previous essay, it became; “I affirm the following: I want to permanently improve my life, my circumstances and my way of thinking.” I really did want to improve. That desire proved to be the fuel that propelled me forward in this journey. It gave me energy to fight the negative thought soldiers and overcome the massive amounts of dissonance that I was experiencing. Good for me. I hope that you can benefit from my sharing the paths I took in my tour of duty. Maybe you have the desire to overcome dissonance in your life too. If so, applying yourself to this process can benefit you.

I truly wanted to be free, therefore, I wrote;

“I want to be free from the bondage and influences of negative beliefs, ideas, thoughts and prejudices for the rest of my life. It is so.”

That was my second written statement after beginning this project. I read and reread that sentence over and over again until I had imbedded it deep in my subconscious. I really wanted to be free from the bondage that I felt from those negatives. Yet I had no idea how to free myself. Or at least that’s what I thought at the time. I was mistaken in that belief. I did know how to free myself. I only needed to get past the negative thoughts and prejudices that were blocking the gate to my open minded acceptance of new ideas and strategies.

More Dissonance
I had two beliefs which were in conflict; a belief that I could make this happen and a belief that I was unable also. Those conflicting beliefs caused disharmony in my mind. I had to do something to eliminate that dissonance. Before I could battle the major dissonance causing cognitions, I needed to overcome the conflict that threatened to derail me before I even started rolling. Therefore, I was willing to at least attempt to do something to work toward my goal. And that willingness proved to be the one most important factor in getting started.

I learned how to actualize and incorporate my knowledge through the process that I am sharing with you here. Please remember this; at first, I really believed I was powerless over the things that controlled me. Yet at the same time I knew that I was able to direct myself beyond my current circumstances. It was a paradox that had me locked into a quicksand quagmire of insensitivity and inaction at times. It took a great deal of effort to battle the negative thought soldiers that I had stationed in my thought garden. They were thoroughly entrenched there.

Once I began the process of liberating myself from the bondage and influences of negative beliefs, ideas and prejudices, I experienced more cognitive dissonance. I uncovered another set of dissonant cognitions. On one hand, I wanted to be free from the negatives that were robbing me of my joy. On the other hand, I believed that I was forever unable to change. That caused disharmony in my mind. Nevertheless, as this battle continued, I successfully pushed forward. I learned to specify exactly what I wanted and to express or illuminate the opposition. Being as exact as possible was a key to unlock success for me in my battle. I was able to get past the negative thought soldiers positioned to stop me.

Through the process of writing and reading the words I’d written, I realized that I had allowed myself to be tricked into believing falsehoods. Once I came to the realization that I was allowing myself to be deceived, I quickly changed gears. Like a Jeep in deep mud, I pressed the pedal to the metal and began the slip-sliding, mud slinging process of driving myself out of the enemy territory that I’d driven myself into. After I realized that my thoughts were the driving force in everything I experienced, I wrote the following:

“I want to build a new set of hidden command files in my mind that will project me into the life that I desire. It is so.”

I studied that statement repeatedly until it became a part of me. I really did want this. Therefore, I created this project to help myself get what I wanted. I applied myself to this every day. Every day! I’m not sure that it would have worked any other way. The command files are the troops. During the years I’ve lived here on Earth I’ve experienced many things. All of those experiences have propelled me to this point in time, to become me, the person that I am right here, right now. I am grateful for everything I’ve experienced, even the really painful things; maybe even especially the painful ones. It is only through fire that silver is refined. Nevertheless, I was unhappy with the dissonance in my thinking. I wanted it to end.

Education
I can’t possibly expect anyone else to fully understand the driving force behind this work. In fact, many would criticize or dismiss this because of their beliefs. As I’m writing, I’m reminded of those who believe only formal education has real value. Of course they have been sold that belief by others and the very institutions that charge large sums of money to “teach” people what others have already figured out. Many of the greatest minds in the world were self-taught without the rigid structures and in some cases the blinders of formal education. Others coupled self-education with their formal education. The great Abe Lincoln was a self-taught man. I use his example to refute the preprogrammed chatter and negative thought soldiers that would dismiss my findings as useless or irrelevant. I know this process worked for me and I believe it can work for you.

There is no need to reinvent anything. Learning from other people has great merit and value.  This motivates me to share my experiences here. I hope that it helps even one other person to overcome the energy robbing dissonance in their lives.

Learning to Rebuild
As I continued in my troop building journey, I realized that I was “learning to use my thought statements all day, every day to build my new positive subconscious foundation.” So I wrote it out and internalized that statement. Repetition served to reinforce the idea. I was already doing it, so it was natural to reinforce the idea by planting it in my thought garden.

I put my ideas onto cards that I planted in my life. I had them in my vehicle where I would “see” them every time I used it. I placed them in strategic places throughout my life. Countertops, mirrors, dresser tops and the refrigerator became powerful allies in my quest to assemble my positive thought soldier battalion. These places became forts where I found relief and reinforcement throughout my day-to-day living.

Every day I was bombarded with the statements that I converted into thoughts that were aimed at doing what I expressed as my desire. I used my ability to see, hear and think to my advantage. Once I saw the words I had written, I read them aloud and heard them as they entered my mind in my voice. As I processed the information with my eyes, it entered my brain through my eyes. Then, as I read it aloud to myself, it entered another section of my brain through my ears. Each step of the way, I was also reading the words silently which affected still another part of my mind. This strategic approach has proven to be successful for me. It is an ongoing process however. Maybe if you are willing to do this it will work for you. Undoubtedly, if you are not willing to believe that this method might work for you, you will die without ever having given it a chance. And death lasts a very long time.

Doubt Removal
As I realized that I was removing doubts, limiting beliefs, prejudices and fears from my mind, I wrote it out as follows:

“I am starting to remove and eliminate all doubts, limiting beliefs, prejudices and fears from my mind for now and forever.”

Once again, I knew positively that I was doing exactly what I wrote. Using my strategy of reading it aloud and silently became another statement. In time, I used the following statement to reinforce all of the others:

“I am beginning to repeat my written ideas over and over aloud and silently in a positive manner every day.”

I found the repetition to be important. At one point I had the thought that this was really boring. I was reading statements that were already true. Yet I knew that I needed to reinforce them. After all, I was only starting to remove and eliminate all doubts, limiting beliefs, prejudices and fears from my mind. Practice makes perfect. It occurred to me that repetitive writing exercises were effective, especially for learning. Writing “I will not talk aloud in class” two hundred times might have actually planted the thought and brought about the desired result. And so I wrote, read, reread and repeated the process.

As I progressed with this project, oftentimes I’d find a card with the blank side facing up. Every time I found one of my cards in my pocket or on a dresser or countertop, I had something to read that reinforced my practicing. Even passive reading placed the words in my mind. So I created the following statement and placed it on the back of every card:

“I read one card per day, every day, 10 times or more, aloud upon waking, repeatedly during the day and 10 times aloud just before I fall asleep.”

Then I wrote:

“I am starting to build a bank of positive and constructive thoughts, ideas, words and statements in my subconscious mind that will be the foundation of my new life. It is so.”

As I studied this statement, I realized that the words I chose were actually descriptive of the very real process that I was going through. I was starting. I was storing or in a positive sense “banking” these ideas. They were positive ideas that were “constructing” a new base for me to operate from. And I believed that this work would be the “foundation” of my new life. How could I draw that conclusion? Each day is the beginning of my life from this moment forward. It is easy for me to understand and believe that my work is the foundation of my new life. In the short term, what I do today becomes the foundation for tomorrow. The collection of my days, weeks and months become the foundation for all of my tomorrows. Therefore, it is true that I’m building a bank of positive and constructive thoughts, ideas, words and statements in my subconscious that will be the foundation of my new life. I was being transformed by the renewing of my mind. So can you.

In time, I realized that I was becoming willing to refer back to specific statements when I needed to reinforce particular ideas or to overcome obstacles. I refined the following statement later in the process, but moved it up in my list of cards because I realized the importance of becoming willing to use these ideas as needed, not just in a regimental order:

“I am becoming willing to refer back or forward to specific cards to assist me when I need more building blocks of thought reinforcement to overwrite any particular patterns.”

My willingness may not be shared by everyone. It was an important part of the process for me however. I believe that willingness to repeat and refer back or forward in the long list of statements I’ve created can be developed. If one wants to succeed at this, willingness to do whatever is necessary can be the difference between success and failure.

Disciplined Action
Overcoming Dissonance through this process requires discipline, and therefore without discipline, most will fail. Discipline is critical. Oh what a nasty word discipline is to so many

people of the world; those who want what they want when they want it. And “NOW!” is the operative word. Without discipline humans are destined to live miserable lives. Much of the suffering we live through in this life results from our lack of discipline or the undisciplined actions of other people. Much of the cognitive dissonance that I’ve experienced in my life was a direct result of undisciplined actions of other people or me. Therefore I wrote the following:

“I am learning that I have control over everything in my life with my thoughts through discipline.”

This was an important milestone for me. I was taught that things were out of my control. Now I was learning that I was in control of my life. True, things happen that are out of my control, but my response to those things is completely within my control. And my response makes all the difference in my life.

It may be raining right after the weather forecaster predicts sunshine and cloudless skies. Nevertheless, I can choose to be upset by the reality vs. the belief or I can accept what is, as it is and go forward in my life without the experience of negatives associated with the dissonance. Yes, the forecaster was mistaken. Perhaps I planned a day on the beach or a hike in the forest. I could still do those things. Maybe I would not enjoy the beach in the rain. I could enjoy something else. Shifting my desired reality to the actual reality without experiencing cognitive dissonance is a powerful outcome of this project. This is not to say that I never experience the pained state of mind resulting from disharmonious cognitions. Indeed, I do. Nevertheless, I recover much faster now that I know that I am in control of my responses. Besides, I’ve asked for serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change what I can and the wisdom to know the difference.

Anyone who sustains cognitive impairment can become angry and bitter over the losses they experience. Or they can move forward with resolve to become all that they can be. And that is the essence of overcoming dissonance.

Learning that I was truly able to rewrite my hidden, subconscious files became the motivation to continue. I was able to see results. My repetitious strategy really worked. Was it because I believed it? Or was it because I applied myself to this with diligence and determination? In any case it worked and continues to work. And that is what really matters.

You have the power to make it work for you. Quit blaming others for your failures, you alone hold the key to your success. Make it happen!

Next Time: Cognitive Dissonance XIV, More  Basic Training