We desperately want our ‘dissonance’ to end. 😞
COGNITIVE DISSONANCE refers to a situation involving conflicting beliefs, behaviors or actions…
It occurs when there is a tendency for individuals to seek consistency among their cognitions (i.e., beliefs, opinions). When there is an inconsistency between attitudes or behaviors something MUST change to eliminate the dissonance.
For example, when people smoke (behaviour) and they know that smoking causes cancer (cognition), they are in a state of cognitive dissonance.
🧠 Here lies our internal battle. 🤯
When we keep practicing (behaviour) and yet we know that touching someone is proven to increase the risk of Covid-19 spread (cognition), we are in a state of cognitive dissonance.
If we stop practicing (behaviour), which we know will drastically affect our income or remove a valuable service to the community (cognition), we are in a state of cognitive dissonance.
No one wins in these situations except the virus itself. It is a gut wrenching and heart breaking decision for anyone to make. We therefore depend on confirmatory bias to support our decision. It is human nature to protect our integrity, and often relieved when the decision is taken out of our hands.
We all have a different story and moral compass. This is not a time to judge. Yes, this virus kills, but so can the mental health effects of financial hardship.
We need compassionate leadership right now. We need to support each other. Respect each other’s decision. Either choice brings with it a cognitive dissonance that is crippling to the soul. I have been struggling with this all week… still am. Let’s not add fuel to the already devastating fire.
In growth and support…
No matter which side of the fence you fall.
Much love,
Jade xx
Jade Scott is a leading identity within Australia’s allied health community. Having successfully established a number of osteopathy clinics in Victoria Jade recognised an opportunity to create meaningful change and innovation within the Allied Health Industry.