[bbgapril]

14 Lessons from 2014
byTara_Neale©

Fourteen Lessons from 2014 (and a lifetime)

**14. The world may be shallow but you don't have to be.**

It does not take five minutes of reality television to leave most people shaking their heads and muttering in disgust. So why does it exist? Because like the old saying goes, 'if you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything.' And these days most people no longer stand for a damned thing. I learned this depressing fact when I took an online course called, The Mind is Shallow. The professor talked about an experiment where they gave the subjects two pictures and asked them to select the one they found most attractive. The experiment then went on for a few more minutes before the researcher handed the subject the picture that they did NOT pick and asked, "Why did you find this one most attractive?" The kicker...almost everyone in the experiment then began to justify why they choose...the wrong picture. Almost no one smiled, handed it back and said "Excuse me, that is the wrong photograph. I choose the other one." That is what we have all become...mindlessly justifying the WRONG choices you made in the past...the house, that too expensive car...and yes, that relationship. Okay there are limits here...if you have kids, grow up and deal with it. Same is true in some long term relationships too (more about that later). But if you are just dating someone...I have a three month rule. That is long enough to have seen the 'real' person and if it ain't working then...quit wasting your time trying to fix the WRONG person for you. Stop justifying the WRONG choice and hand that photo back for the one you really want.