Blog Article/Post Caveat (Read First Please: Click the Link)
As you already know we practitioners and experts of karate work hard at the principles in our practices and applications to include the philosophy principle. In particular: mind; mushin; non-intention; zanshin and being; non-action, the empty cup; inner peace and that all encompassing non-action.
All of this, as we imagine, sooner or later takes on the obstacle of one's "ego." Egoistic behaviors all lend toward aggression and violence. Egoistic behaviors tend to rise, like cream on milk, to the top through a process, a very human process, of "Justification - Self-justification."
In a very, very fundamental way self-justifications come down to how we deal with mistakes in our lives. I quote, "After making a mistake people tend to justify their decisions which lead to the mistake even if they know they did the wrong thing. People try to avoid or diminish the feeling of having done something wrong and try to justify their decisions instead of admitting their error."
It's about an effort on our part to resist behaviors that would lead into and escalate aggressions with their often resulting violence. It comes down to cognitive dissonance, confirmation biases and the resulting self-justifications so our ego's can deal with it in response to our identity, beliefs and concepts of ourselves all contributors to our ego's.
Our justifications or excuses if you prefer are the ways we justify our actions even when we know they are wrong. We justify our actions and words to alleviate dissonance. Confirmation bias is how we accept such justifications, even when glaringly wrong, so that our dissonance of what is patently wrong vs. what we believe and have as our identities, etc., are what lead us astray.
I quote, "The confirmation bias is the tendency of people to look at information which supports their current belief or conviction. Doing so can make them find information that supports their case even if there is no evidence, or worse, it can make contradictory evidence look like supporting evidence. But self-justification and the confirmation bias tend to start after a series of decisions, this process is known as the pyramid of choice."
You see, as if you already knew, we then all have choices and that ability is the stronghold of controlling our dissonances, biases and justifications. The more you control your justifications in peace, the greater your ability to control them in stress-conditions and adrenal effects.
The pyramid, in my concept in karate, is that point where perceptions, beliefs, experiences make my concepts that sit at the top until conflicting information, actions or deeds trigger dissonance. Hopefully, this occurs in training and practice because the delay in the mind during such stress oriented situations could lead to damage. This is where the division begins because we can recognize when self-justifications begin and take a look at how our decisions, if not succumbing to confirmation bias, can either allow us to remain steadfast in our original concept or allow us to modify that concept into a new concept relevant and appropriate to the situation of the moment.
When we train for conflict we have to consider two or more people being involved, I quote, “… choice as a starting point from where people depart in different directions. For example, suppose there are two similar people with the opportunity to commit a action, one being crime the other not. The top of the pyramid represents the situation where neither of them have yet made a decision, and both have an overview of both options, committing a action or not.
AND
One person makes a decision which leads that person gradually closer to a situation where a crime could be committed, for example, the person decides to check if there are opportunities to rob you or not. The other person decides to do something honest instead and decides to deescalate and provide an opportunity to stop the other; deescalate; or escape and evade. As both persons go further down the pyramid, their views will become more biased towards their decisions. The person about to commit a crime will be sure that it was the right decision because he or she had no other choice, while the other individual will be more convinced that deescalation, escape and evasion, etc., was the best decision." (Note: modified the original to better fit, somewhat, karate and self-protection)
Humans will more often than not refuse to admit mistakes, errors and just being wrong to hold on to that identity and ego because of the huge discomfort the change would bring especially as it literally is perceived as an attack against the very fabric of that person triggering the self-justifying of preferential beliefs when balanced against the opposite truth to therefore confirm that original belief rather than grow, change and evolve. It is the hardest road to follow when others provide a much easier path that remains comfortable, easy and has worked well in the past - so, why change (a bit of self-justification in this don’t you think?).
Admitting mistakes is not just about learning and evolving and developing oneself, it is about letting go of our ego and creating value in all the myriad things regardless that allow us to progress and to discard fearing that others will see us as weak, vulnerable and open to attack.
Let me close with on last quote or thought, “Thoughts: Admitting errors can be helpful in nearly all situations. The strongest factor may be that it leads to feedback from other people which lets us learn faster.”
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