“Cognitive dissonance” is a concept built by social psychologist Leon Festinger, defined as the discomfort we feel when we entertain two conflicting ideas or notions.   For example, in Aesop’s Fables, the tale of the fox and the grapes, the fox fails to reach the grapes, and then concludes, “they were probably sour anyway”.  (a) “I want the grapes”  (b) I cannot have them  (dissonance) —à resolution –  I don’t want them, because they are sour.  (This tale is the origin of the expression: “sour grapes”.).     or:  “I am a good person”,   and “I just did a bad thing”,    resolution:   rationalization, I had to do it because….

       Festinger studied a UFO (unidentified flying object) cult, and wrote a book on it,  When Prophecy Fails.  The cult predicted the end of the world. When it did not happen, rather than dissolve, the cult grew stronger, as members recruited other members;  they resolved the dissonance between “the world will end” and “the world did not end” by concluding: “the world did not end because our cult saved it”. 

     Cognitive dissonance causes discomfort.  The human mind, apparently, does not like ideas that clash with one another and works very hard and very rapidly to eliminate the clash. 

      Creative people, however, are known to be very good at holding dissonant ideas in their minds for long periods of time,  using the clash of ideas to create totally new concepts or inventions.  For instance,  Einstein thought that time was not constant but in fact variable;  yet he looked at his pocket watch 10 times a day and saw that it was perfectly regular and constant.   He held this dissonance, until he developed the special and general theories of relativity.  

      I believe that part of what we mean by “moving out of our comfort zone” is precisely this  —  creating dissonances that are uncomfortable, and holding on to them rather than artificially and superficially resolving them.    Practice holding two clashing ideas in your mind, without seeking compromise or resolution.  

     * I am a good person;  I am a bad person.

    *  Simple designs are beautiful; complex designs are beautiful.

    *  creativity is thinking out of the box; creativity is thinking within the bounds of realistic constraints.

….    Be careful not to “turn gray”.  In other words, holding “black” and “white” in your mind simultaneously does not mean to turn them into one color, gray.  This is the opposite of creativity.  It means seeing black, seeing white,  feeling strongly the clash — and not seeking to resolve or eliminate it, but rather holding it, holding the tension, exploring the tension and letting it guide you toward new ideas.    To do this, you need to welcome the discomfort (often extreme) that cognitive dissonance generates.