Definition of the concept
Self-deception is one of the defense mechanisms of the psyche, which works through distortion or imaginary changes in the surrounding reality. A person, under the influence of various motives, most often unconscious, presents to his own consciousness a modified course of events, which turns out to be more advantageous for him. For example, an applicant who did not enter the desired specialty due to an insufficient number of points in the exams begins to believe that the admissions committee “bought everything,” and that is why he did not enroll. And not because of our own lack of knowledge.
Self-deception in religion
There is a lot of debate on the topic of self-deception in religion, their connections and root causes. According to one of the expressed points of view, the postulates of religion are initially illusory and have only a relative involvement in existing reality, therefore, a person’s faith in the concepts provided is absurd and is self-deception. From this point of view (religion as self-deception), this is, of course, a phenomenon that, in extreme manifestations, brings exclusively negative influences and consequences for the individual. Others consider the concept of religion to be true, but still with the adjustment that only the religious movement that a person adheres to is true and true, and all others are false. In this paradigm of perception, religion is not self-deception, and is perceived as good.
These two extremes cannot fully describe the mechanisms of religious influences and perceptions. Objectivity lies between these models. The basis of religious movements is not only lies and self-deception or only the truth, it is a combination of these factors, where self-deception often obscures the truth, due to the needs of the human personality.
All religions are based on stereotyped thinking, standards of behavior adopted by the reference group, and are quite cruel in their punishments for people who do not meet these parameters. The concepts of religion are structured in such a way that they introduce a large percentage of magic, which contributes to a decrease in critical perception of reality. This leads to the fact that in the future, almost any idea can be instilled in a person, and he, in turn, relying on faith and self-deception, will complete all the necessary elements of reality so that the proposed picture becomes a reality in his perception.
Religious self-deception helps a person remain human, preserve his personality and socially oriented behavior patterns, which generally contributes to both moral preservation and physical survival. However, acquiring extreme aspects of its manifestation, it can be as dangerous as it is saving. Believing in the manifestation of various miracles, a person begins to neglect adequate safety measures, commit logically unjustified actions, and psychoneurological diseases and symptoms may arise.
As in any area of human existence, self-deception also takes place in the religious aspects of life; the degree of its influence, as well as whether it will be positive for the individual or not, cannot be determined once and for all. This is a combination of a huge number of life factors, personality traits, which in their combination predetermine the impact of self-deception.
Causes of manifestation
Most often, self-deception acts as a defense against traumatic and stressful situations. So, the causes of self-deception can be:
- Fear. Most often, these are fears that someone, having learned the truth, will be able to somehow harm the person. Here: fear of responsibility, feelings of guilt and shame, fear of realizing one’s own shortcomings and the wrongness of one’s actions.
- Low self-esteem. A person who considers himself not good enough begins to attribute to himself positive qualities that he does not actually have.
- Psychotraumatic situations. When the impact of an event on the psyche is too strong, a person begins to distort the real facts so that the situation becomes less painful.
Leadership and examples of self-deception
The combination of original leadership and self-deception illustrates how we constantly deceive ourselves into believing that we are doing the right thing, and with the best of intentions.
For example, some thieves lie to themselves when they say they steal from rich people who do not give money to the poor. By saying this, they justify their actions and protect their own ego, because otherwise they would have to admit that they are losers who have not found a better way to make money than to steal it.
Self-deception can ruin your life if you don't notice these kinds of attempts at lying to yourself early in the development of a bad habit and don't do everything possible to avoid repeating them.
How to get rid of self-deception
First of all, in order to prevent self-deception or get rid of it, it is necessary to understand its cause. If fear pushes you to self-deception, then you need to work with it: learn to take responsibility for your words and actions, depend less on the opinions of others and forgive yourself for small mistakes. In the case when the cause of self-deception is low self-esteem, it is important to look for your real positive sides, and not invent missing ones, praise yourself more often and try new things, achieving success in small steps. If serious traumatic situations arise, it is better to consult a psychotherapist: he will help you “work through” the situation and condition in such a way that in the future it does not cause the need for self-deception.
I am crazy! Notes from a psychologist to parents and children
Today we will talk about another phenomenon of psychology - self-deception, we will try to figure out how and why we deceive ourselves...
Ah, it’s not difficult to deceive me!... I myself am glad to be deceived! (A.S. Pushkin)
As a result of numerous studies, scientists have come to the conclusion that, on average, each of us lies three times within 10 minutes...
“Oh, well, it can’t be…” is usually the answer if the same thing is repeated in public.
And yet... If you watch your speech after your friend once again gets a new perm (for women), or after you return from fishing (for men), you will quickly confirm this simple truth for yourself. . After all, distortion of facts (no matter how insignificant it may be) is already a lie.
Agree, no matter how diligently we were instilled in childhood with the idea that lying is not good, there are times when somewhere inside we are still proud of our deception (when it is a classic medical “white lie”, or, say, giveaways while playing chess with a child). Deception is in human nature itself, even pundits have confirmed this.
Okay... But what to do with self-deception? After all, to be honest, it doesn’t happen that you deceived yourself - and you rejoice? And in general, it’s somehow illogical; from yourself, what secrets can there be ?
Nevertheless, despite the dubious rationality of self-deception, it seems that the whole world is doing just that...
An example that is on the surface is a guy and a girl going to him to “feed the fish.” Well, if it’s obvious to both of them why they need to go indoors, then why not talk about it directly? Nothing like that, after all - adults... But no... But the most interesting thing is that girls often, even despite their own experience, believe that a flock of fish, swollen from hunger, is waiting for them outside the door...
Let no one feel bad from such self-deception, but this is the first step from which a principle is born... And the principle is transferred to more and more new areas of life...
For the past 3-5 days, you have not been able to wash the pan in which something has disappeared (this is especially true for men). You might think that if you don’t remove the lid, the contents along with the odors will disappear with the wave of a magic wand. But you haven’t heard of such cases either, have you?
And over the years, when the first alarming signs of a serious illness appear (for example, lack of coordination of actions hinting at a stroke), people prefer to close their eyes and continue to play the game of self-deception called “I’m still young”... And this is self-deception with far-reaching consequences.
The most important thing is that no matter how you jump over 2 sleepers at a time, you will not be able to escape from the approaching train.
No matter how sophisticated the lie is, designed to protect our cozy little world from the invasion of the “truth of life,” reality is sure to take its toll sooner or later. Necessarily!
Therefore, stop turning a blind eye to the obvious.
- If the fortune teller didn’t help you the first time, don’t go to her the second time.
- If MMM-1996 collapsed, then MMM-2013 will also collapse.
- If someone close and important, who for a week refers to being busy and unable to see each other, accept it as a fact that you are not that important.
Sometimes it's scary, sometimes it's painful. But in all cases, it is not as scary and painful as what happens from prolonged neglect of reality.
To really live a full life, and not just rehearse it behind the scenes, you should look at the world with wide open eyes, and not squint from the blinding light of truth.
Remember, as Jesus says: “let those who have eyes see, let those who have ears hear…”. See, hear!
What will help avoid such a situation?
The main cure for fear of failure is clarity of thought and inspiration. As they say: “I see a goal, I believe in myself.” Inspiration is generally very similar to Wi-Fi, where you are the device and the radio waves are love.
When watching an attractive woman driving an expensive car, people usually say... Well, you know what they say. However, few people think that the very fact that her man can afford such gifts is her merit. Many rich people who started from scratch note that they would not have achieved anything if not for the uncompromising faith in them of their father/mother/wife (underline as appropriate).
Love feeds us with energy, inspires us and gives us such confidence that even an ordinary cleaner can become the owner of a large cleaning company in the shortest possible time. After all, they love him and believe in him not tomorrow, but here and now.
In a word, stop engaging in self-deception and giving yourself ways to retreat. If you have thought of something, start without delay. Tomorrow never comes. Doubts away!
You should not engage in pseudo-work on yourself. Instead of repeating to yourself a hundred times: “I can do it,” it’s better to say once: “I did it” and thank those who helped you with this.
Gifts of the Art of Self-Deception
In fact, self-deception - in a reasonable, medicinal dose - is a benefit for every person, especially a resident of our vast homeland. In our society, it is not the smartest or the strongest who survive and succeed. Those who master the art of mental architecture achieve the most: a number of valuable intrapersonal qualities, among which perhaps the most important is self-deception.
How so? It's simple! After all, what optimism is is essentially self-deception, only in medicinal, tonic, invigorating and life-affirming doses. This is the bright side of the coin - the indispensable talent of a person who is able to persistently achieve a difficult but completely achievable goal. The ability of the soul and mind to see the true perspective of the development of events, to evaluate what is happening not only in a negative, but also in a positive way. Accept real world events, sometimes ignore them or change your behavioral line in accordance with the development of the situation, but still move on, albeit in a roundabout way.
