3 steps to conquer Psychological Inertia — The only thing holding you back

Psychological Inertia is the tendency of our brain to prefer the ideas that are most familiar to us.

This tendency inhibits any action against the status quo hence it is also called Status-quo bias.

I want you to imagine

· The moment you saw a person with different physical features or

· The moment you came to know someone of different sexuality, ethnicity, religion

· The moment you thought about an unconventional career choice or

· Any other moment you considered about anything unconventional

The weight in your heart right now this weight is Psychological Inertia.

This stops you from crossing the line to be or to accept something that is “conventional”, “normal”, or “usual” .

The inability to accept something out of the ordinary becomes a hurdle to your social life, relationships, financial risk taking, problem solving abilities and experimentation.

I will give you three steps to conquer this barrier

1. Acknowledge

Psychological Inertia is something hardwired into our brain in centuries of evolution. So, we must accept the presence of Inertia and not try to fool ourselves into believing that we are accepting to everything new.

2. One at a time

Now that you have understood your biases, it’s time to pick one at a time. Pick something that is really ‘weird’, ‘risky’ or ‘unimaginable’ to you but to some people it is a routine.

3. 3rd person View

This last step is the most crucial. You have pin pointed what you find “different” and you understand your inertia towards it . Now I want you to imagine

· Being that person or

· Doing that thing or

· Feeling that feeling or

· Taking the road not taken

You must find reasons why it might be normal to someone or how it can be okay for something.

In this calm state of mind, when you are in their shoes. Your brain will consider this as your new normal and will try to justify your normal.

After this 3-step exercise, you will be a changed person, who is more open to changes.

You may or may not accept this new thing for yourself but you sure will be more accepting towards others for whom this is the status quo.

And whenever you find yourself, feeling that weight in your heart for something ‘out of ordinary ‘ . You can do this 3-step exercise for it.