Cognitive Dissonance

Whenever we want to do something that's against our best interests - e.g., eating a piece of cake when we're trying to lose weight - we experience "cognitive dissonance." We're in conflict with ourselves. (See today's Wall St. Journal) The pain of that conflict is so great that we'll immediately reduce it by denial: "I'll eat it today and tomorrow I'll diet," or "it's such a small piece that it won't make a difference."

We're all great at self-delusion. It's a mainstay of the human character. It enables us to hurt ourselves and/or others without feeling guilty about our actions.

Until the moment of truth arrives. The scale shows the pounds, in the same way that the court tells us the crime.

What have you been deluding yourself about? What are you going to do about it?