When our beliefs, identity, and behaviors don’t align, we face the uncomfortable tension of cognitive dissonance. In this episode, we examine how Masons often rewrite their identity narratives to justify behavior rather than making real change. The Craft calls us instead to reconciliation: to square our actions, refine our beliefs, and align our identities with the truth of our work.

🔑 Key Takeaways

• Cognitive dissonance arises when belief, identity, and behavior are out of alignment
• Many resolve dissonance by rewriting identity stories instead of changing behavior
• The Masonic path demands reconciliation through honesty, refinement, and upright action

💬 Featured Quotes

• 0:00:00 – “Dealing with cognitive dissonance is particularly difficult in that when we look at the situations that we’re confronted with where our beliefs and behaviors or identity and behaviors don’t match, we have to go through a very difficult reconciliation process.”
• 0:00:20 – “For some folks that are perhaps less informed or less committed to growth and development, they will very likely just rewrite the narrative.”
• 0:00:35 – “I did this because it supports my behavior or my beliefs in the following ways… as opposed to changing their beliefs or their identity to then allow for proactive behavior.”

🔗 Explore Related Episodes

• The Square: Aligning Action With Virtue
  — A look at the moral tool for measuring and reconciling behavior with values.
• The Hoodwink: Confronting Our Blind Spots
  — Explores the ways we remain blind to our own inconsistencies and the need to remove the veil.
• The Point Within the Circle: Reconciling Expressed Identity and Lived Belief
  — On the relationship between identity, belief, and behavior, and the challenge of alignment.

Creators & Guests

• Brian Mattocks - Host