In my advocacy of personal wellness, I have revisited a concept straight out of my Psychology 101 class–cognitive dissonance. cognitive dissonance as found in textbooks is a psychological state that describes the uncomfortable feeling between what one holds to be true and what one knows to be true. Some might say that cognitive dissonance is a viola– tion of one’s conscience. When people cheat on their taxes (or their spouses), they know they are doing wrong unless they are insane or utterly sociopathic. Yet, they rationalize what they are doing to justify their actions. This rational– ization is the essence of believing in rela– tive truth. The decline in our society, and in many ways our personal health, is directly related to the internal conflict (stress) that is caused by our bad choices and defective decisions. I submit to you that if we will get on board with the concept of absolute truth (Sorry, not everything is relative!), we will have a happier and healthier society.
In this election year, one accompanied by significant social and economic upheav– al, I have developed a heightened awareness of the importance of truth. More impor– tantly, I have become increasingly interest– ed in the concept of absolute truth. It seems that we live in a world of relative truth. We live in a time when one’s code of conduct and belief system can change as frequently as the texas weather. one’s attitudes and actions are determined by one’s circum– stances. conscience has been overcome by personal agen– das. “Hey, if it furthers my career, makes me more money or gives me more power, then it is okay to compromise… this time.” Unfortunately, the slippery slope of relative truth and consistent compromise leads one to the only direction that all slopes lead: down. The perils of living in a society in which few believe in absolute truth are evident in our moral decay and in my opinion, our decline in general health.
If you believe in true goodness and righteousness, then you must believe in the power of absolute truth. I am not asking you to be narrow and close–minded, but only to develop a foundation of immutable and uncompromised truths. The sad thing about people who believe that there are no absolute truths is that, consciously or unconsciously, they have adopted a belief system that nothing they do mat– ters. They also believe they will not be judged based on their actions. In essence, not believing in absolute truth is the equivalent of not believing in accountability. trust me: it is difficult to defend an assertion of unaccountability, even for the staunchest believer in moral relativity. Remember, even people who proclaim there are absolutely no absolutes have violated their own premise.
You see, there are absolutes. There is absolutely one life to one death ratio for all human beings. There is absolutely good and evil in this world. We will absolutely transition from youth to old age.
So how do you get a fresh start on a healthier lifestyle? Start believing in and understanding the im– portance of these absolute truths:
- We have a creator.
- We are created for a purpose.
- Our purpose is not about us but about serving others.
- There is good and evil in the world.
- There is right and wrong in the world.
- We will always be right if we consider others before ourselves.
- We should treat others as we want to be treated.
- We have the capacity for change and the opportunity for forgiveness.
- There is no such thing as “a little white lie.”
- Everyone has the capacity to change for the better.
- All people desire to be happy and healthy.
The first step is to be true to yourself, be true to others and be true to your creator. The second step is to follow your conscience and eradicate cognitive dissonance from your life. The third step is understanding that your purpose is to serve others in a way that you would want to be served. If you adopt this practical paradigm, you will have taken the first step toward true wellness!
Until then, live well!
