Cognitive Dissonance is simply when you have many attitudes, thoughts and beliefs that contradict among themselves. For example, you smoke the cigarette but it will kill you with cancer. Here are 4 ways on how cognitive dissonance works.

Modify one or more thoughts

I smoke. I know that it will kill me with cancer. Well, actually I don’t smoke much. That is fine. I won’t be killed easily.

Change the perceived importance of one of your thoughts

I smoke. I know that it will kill me with cancer but does smoking really really really related to the cancer? Are you sure about that?

Adding more thoughts

I smoke. I know that it will kill me with cancer. However, I exercise and have the healthy food, so I won’t be killed by the cancer! 

Denying one of your thoughts.

I smoke. I know that it will kill me with cancer but don’t be silly. I have joust don in the internet that there is the evidence that smoking and cancer is not related!

All in al, cognitive dissonance works to protects the attitudes you attach as if it is part of yourself. You could say that it works like the egocentric behaves. Of course, it does, and you can eliminate the thoughts you don’t like only in the conscious level. It is when like you are lying. Sometime you still have known the truth.

When we are aware of our thought, we can choose other ways to think. Don’t let the cognitive dissonance limit your imagination and possibilities.