In Which Ciwt Continues to Decide --- Day 135

Walk: PGCCSF, Presidio Trails and Main Post
Distance: 5 miles, hit balls, home yoga

Under Construction

Ah, yes, good old cognitive dissonance.  Basically it is a psychological term for the discomfort we all feel when we need to make a difficult (for us) decision and we hold contradictory beliefs about it.  If we go with one set of beliefs, in short order the conflictual belief set starts pressing its case and we change our mind.  Then, the first belief set comes back, etc., etc. until we (hopefully) reconcile the conflict into a workable/steady decision.

Here is an example from Ciwt's very life.  She needs to decide whether to join a local golf club.  One long time belief she has is that having a central sport in her life is important, so she says, yes, she will join the club.  But, nearly immediately, the opposite argument comes up and says 'that is an outdated identity and a central sport will take up too much time, be too expensive, etc.' So she resolves not to join the club.  But Then....you get the picture.

Yesterday, if you read Ciwt, she was considering the don't do it route, and now today she is more seriously considering finding a way to do it.  And she's hopeful she can take her own advice: develop an interesting, challenging fitness program that includes a measured amount of time at the golf club. Maybe just work hitting on the practice tee into her usual yoga/walk life so she isn't committed to (anxious) hours and hours with strangers on the course.  Or do that for a while until she truly wants to play/compete and simultaneously slowly get to know members better at the various social activities.

In other words, look for that gray area which is quite foreign to Ciwt's thinking style.