Psychological Reactance: Why We Sabotage Our Own Goals

Psychological reactance isn’t really bad.

If you comply everytime with rules and instructions, you tend to be more vulnerable to manipulation.

It is not beneficial when, at times, it could prevent us from doing things that we should do — like be helpful to others.

This affects you deeply when you are trying to make, commitments and set goals dor yourself. Example, that impulse of “don’t tell me what to do!” can kick in even when it’s you telling yourself what to do.

This is because, it doesn’t feel like you telling yourself what to do. Rather it’s you from the past, when you made your schedule, telling yourself what to do right now.

With an awareness about psychological reactance, you have the power to recognize and disarm it.

Instead of flaking on commitments because of a knee-jerk feeling, you can change your perspective on the situation.

By changing the dialogue, you empower yourself. Now you’re in charge. You’re not being told what to do; you’re choosing to make time for something that matters to you.

Disarming psychological reactance takes practice, but it’s worth learning how to deal with this uncomfortable feeling that all too often leads us off track.