Why is it so difficult to step back from a dramatic position that we have publically taken – is it because of ego?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

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question why is it so difficult to step back if we have taken some dramatic decision is it because of ego I think words like ego involve a strong sense of judgmentality that is best avoided when we are dealing with issues where a lot is at stake for us broadly speaking we all have particular natures particular psychological inclinations and based on those we we choose particular courses of action and especially if we have chosen a course of action that is radically different from what most people choose then we become quite intellectually emotionally personally invested in it and then to step back from it requires a lot of thought and effort it’s not just changing our public position, it’s also changing our own inner orientation so some of us are more psychologically flexible than others some of us tend to be more psychologically fixed than others I am deliberately using a positive word fixed not the negative word rigid because there are times when sticking to a particular decision can be a virtue and psychological fixity in the face of opposition is often seen as a determination or resilience but there are times when this can be counterproductive and that’s why rather than thinking of it as ego or reluctance we just try to go through an objective decision making process and based on that decision making process if we feel persuaded that the earlier decision was not right then write down the reasons objectively because whenever we make a decision or change a decision especially if we change a decision that we had made dramatically we need to have something persuasive not just for others but for ourselves also so if we have written down things which are reasonably persuasive for ourselves and if we keep them readily with us then that will make it easier to change course when it becomes evident that the previous course was not as advisable as we had thought so rather than getting into the judgmentality associated with the word ego it’s much better to recognize that decision making involves a lot of personal investment and withdrawing it and investing elsewhere requires a significant amount of thought we need to persuade ourselves as much as we need to persuade others so if we may provide ourselves the resources in terms of writing down our rationale then it’s good we can move on after that thank you