What is meant by inconsistent behavior? And do you also know things that nobody actually wants, but which are nevertheless supported or encouraged by most people? Our actions have consequences. Mercy, compassion, charity, kindness, tolerance, helpfulness - with these positive character traits is how we describe human behavior. However, if we deviate from these values for a variety of reasons, inconsistent and ultimately inconsistent actions can also have serious consequences - both for ourselves and, above all, for third parties.
In this, admittedly somewhat unusual article, I would like to present examples of inconsistent and contradictory behavior that most people in our society consciously or unconsciously display. You will learn both why this is the case and how you can bring your thoughts and actions back into harmony. Let's go!
You can find a brief overview here in advance:
- Cruelty to animals
- Child labor
- World hunger
- Rainforest destruction
- Racism
- Bee mortality
- Inner city death
- Escape
- Diseases
- Uncertain future of children & grandchildren
What exactly is inconsistent behavior?
Before we move on to the examples, I would like to briefly explain the concept of inconsistency. It stands for inconsistency and contradiction. Inconsistent behavior is understood to mean the Inconsistency between a person's (inner or expressed) attitude and their actual actions.
Based on the following examples, you will quickly realize that thinking and acting often simply do not harmonize logically. There is a lack of logical consistency. Incidentally, the uneasy feeling that this often triggers inner conflict is called cognitive dissonance designated.
What is the difference between inconsistency and inconsistency? Inconsistency is the state of contradiction between two things, inconsistency the defective, illogical reaction to it.
10 examples: Things that nobody actually wants, but (almost) everyone supports
You may believe that you are always behave reasonably, rationally and consistently - and that your personal values are exactly in line with your everyday behavior. But there are bound to be one or two habits in your life that have consequences that you actually oppose with every fiber of your being. Perhaps even things that you really detest.
Here are the promised examples of contradictory behaviors that most people engage in - whether they want to and know it themselves or not.
1. "I am against cruelty to animals and animal suffering."
Most of us would probably say that we put our heart and soul into fighting Cruelty to animals are. We would help injured, mistreated animals (whether dogs, cats, chickens or cows) as soon as we noticed them - and report the people who use violence, torture and kill them.
But for some reason, we put blinkers on when it comes to our own food. Pigs, for example, are driven into the slaughterhouse alive and then come out as packaged bacon cubes - and we believe that something "humane" has happened inside the walls. But humane slaughter is an illusion - the most "animal-friendly" The method of killing is CO2 gasificationin which the animals die in excruciating pain or are stunned. Whether pigs, chicks, calves or lambs - there is simply no human way to take the life of a living being.
It is therefore inconsistent behavior to be against cruelty to animals but at the same time pay money for someone to torture animals behind closed doors in order to produce animal food. Even "organic meat" and "pasture milk" do not change this. The only logical consequenceto harmonize one's own thoughts and actions in this regard is to stop consuming animal products and live vegan.
2. "I am against child labor."
Whether Coffee, cocoa, palm oil, clothing, electronics, tobacco, leather or gold - Unfortunately, child labor is a common part of many industries. UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, defines child labor on its own website as follows:
"Work for which children are too young or which is dangerous or exploitative, harmful to their physical or mental development or which prevents children from attending school. Child labor deprives children of their childhood and violates children's rights worldwide."
Each of us would probably claim that we are against the exploitation of children and vehemently reject any accusation to the contrary.
But even though child labor is both a cause and a consequence of poverty, and armed conflict, the climate changeand urbanization promotes them: we consumers are partly to blame! On the one hand, because we people in the western industrialized nations have become Excessive consumption of cheap goods which are outsourced to low-wage countries without labor protection standards. But on the other hand, because we have essential Drivers of global warming are.
How Stop and prevent child labor leaves? When shopping, make sure you pay attention to the Fairtrade seal - it stands for fairly grown and traded products with transparent supply chains. The GOTS and IVN textile seals are important indicators when buying clothes. Prefer Fairtrade chocolate, use technical devices for as long as possible and do not follow every new trend! Make your life more climate friendly. And if possible, also support organizations such as UNICEF, which actively work against child labour every day.
3. "I don't want people to go hungry."
As a child, you learn early on that you should value your meals, as there are people in the world who have to fight for every bite. According to Welthungerhilfe 828 million people go hungry worldwide - and every thirteen seconds a child under the age of five dies because there is not enough food on their plate.₁
Nobody wants that - but nobody should be surprised that it can still happen in our times! After all, the fact that around 931 million tons of edible food are thrown away worldwide₂ and that we feed 56 billion farm animals every year₃ but not 8 billion people speaks for inconsistent behaviour.
The main contributor to this distribution problem is our Western, wasteful lifestyle with preference for animal foodssuch as meat, milk, cheese and eggs. Climate change is also destroying the harvests and livelihoods of the people who contribute the least.
If we use the Stop world hunger we as consumers need to rethink. By planning our meals in advance, sticking to the shopping list, turning leftovers into smoothies and freezing surplus meals, for example, we can reduce our own food waste. Reduce food waste. And a conscious, vegan diet contributes to the fact that the plants are consumed directly by us instead of being used as animal feed for the Factory farming to grow and then eat the animals and their excreta (eggs, dairy products & Co).
4. "I don't want the rainforest to disappear."
We all love the tropical rainforests, don't we? The unique, evergreen lungs of the earth are the Home to over 2 million animal and plant species. Nevertheless, over 400,000 square kilometers have been cleared in the Amazon region since 1990, for example - an area the size of Denmark and Germany combined.₄ The animals are losing their habitat - the species extinction is progressing with great strides.
The cause of the Deforestation of the forests is primarily due to economic interests. For at least 70 percent of the cleared areas, the The creation of pastureland and the cultivation of animal feed for factory farming are responsible.₅ Palm oil cultivation for food and cosmetics also plays a role.
What you can do to Saving rainforests and stop the inconsistency in our own actions? A purely plant-based diet is the step that can make an extremely big difference from one day to the next. I would also advise you to avoid palm oil products. With the App Codecheck you can quickly identify them with a barcode scan.
5. "I am not racist."
Racism is a way of thinking and acting that assumes that there are different races of people and that People with certain, biological characteristics less value are. For example, they are discriminated against, devalued and excluded because of their origin, their hair, their name, their language or their skin color.₆
Hardly anyone would claim to be a racist or right-wing extremist. However, in addition to open, hateful, racist insults, there are also more subtle forms of racism that lead many of us to make racist remarks from time to time - usually only at second glance. The so-called Everyday Racism is rather inconspicuous - but for those affected, the following casual remarks, for example, are anything but quickly forgotten:
- "Where are you (really) from?"
- "But you speak good German!"
- "This isn't the Hottentots, is it?"
- "Can I touch your hair?"
- "You're exotic!"
- …
Such questions and sentences suggest that someone is unusual, different, perhaps even strange. To Combating racismwe have to learn to adapt our choice of words. This probably won't change any social conditions, but prevents existing racism from constantly reproducing itself.
6. "I don't want the bee to disappear."
The bee is the Ambassador of biodiversity and are flying high on the popularity scale in the animal world. Also because they are Pollinator of plants plays a crucial role in global food security. In Germany alone, around 80 percent of crops have to be stunned by bees.₇ What does this have to do with inconsistent behavior? Most people would probably claim to be a bee lover and protect the insects.
But the Bee mortality is progressing - and the biggest driver is once again mankind. Densely built-up areas in cities, monoculture agriculture and the use of pesticides are causing them problems.₈ The breeding of susceptible honey bees for the production of honey also harbors the risk of disease transmission to wild bees.
If you want to protect the bee, you should Garden bee friendly. Set for example flowering plants, such as thyme and lavender. Build a Bee hotel and put the insects Nesting aids available. Avoid the use of pesticides and give preference to the following when shopping Organic food, which is made from organic farming without the use of pesticides.
Tip: The bee is not the only endangered animal. As each of us knows Stop insect mortality you can find out in the linked article.
7. "I don't want small stores to disappear from city centers."
Under the terms "inner city death" or "store death" we are all familiar by now with the structural business closures in the stationary retail trade. The empty rooms and bare windows of former stores, adorned only by a few old brand stickers, are hard to bear. There is hardly anyone who welcomes this picture - except perhaps some e-commerce companies and a few online retailers. After all, the steady growth of online retail is seen as the main cause of the death of stores in city centers.
Where is the inconsistency? Although consumers now see themselves as responsible₉, most people continue to prefer the convenience of online shopping - especially with Amazon. Incidentally, the company's share of online retail sales in Germany was already 53% in 2020.₁₀
So anyone who is really interested in ensuring that city centers remain as lively as possible, or become so again as quickly as possible, should again prefer to buy locally and support regional businesses instead of the big players. A step away from our established habits is necessary for this.
8. "I don't want people to have to leave their homes."
How bad it would feel to be responsible for other people having to flee their home country because of your own behavior. War and violence, human rights violations, hunger, environmental disasters, climate change... the list of causes of flight is endless. Nobody welcomes the fact that people have to leave their belongings behind to flee for a variety of reasons. Some people in Germany even take to the streets to demonstrate because they don't want refugees in Germany.
As a rule, they themselves are to blame for the global social problem that they do not want to have. Environmental refugees leave their country due to floods, droughts, crop failures or major fires, for example. Scenarios that could occur due to the climate-damaging behavior in our society are increasingly likely to occur in the future.
Not every cause of flight can be prevented - but we can all at least prevent environmental causes by taking action. a lifestyle that is as sustainable as possible counteract in a targeted manner.
9. "I don't want to get sick."
Health is the most important thing in life, don't you think? People who have had a serious illness themselves or who have lost a loved one due to illness can confirm this. But in principle, of course, everyone strives to stay healthy. However, this aspiration is not always reflected in our own behavior.
"Health is not everything, but without health, everything is nothing."
(Arthur Schopenhauer (more under Health Quotes)
Quit smoking? Impossible! From meat eater to vegan? Not a chance! More exercise in everyday life? No time! It's hard to imagine that most people's top priority is to be healthy and stay that way for a long time. And yet nutrition-related diseasessuch as obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus or high blood pressure, for example, can already be caused by a plant-based diet prevent.
If you really grow old and live as long as possible you should stop smoking, Drink plenty of water, take preventive care, spend a lot of time in nature, get plenty of exercise and sleep - and last but not least, find tasks that fulfill and inspire you. Get rid of your inconsistent behavior and enjoy a calming clarity in your life.
10. "I don't want my children and grandchildren to grow up on an uninhabitable planet."
Climate change, increasing natural disasters, wars over resources, water shortages, beaches full of plastic waste, poisoned rivers, polluted air... the Environmental problems of our time are man-made - and therefore, at least in theory, solvable.
We might now expect a jolt to go through our society and change our behavior in order to conserve natural resources and to preserve the planet for future generations. After all, who wants their own children and grandchildren to face an uncertain future? Everyone would probably do everything imaginable for their offspring. But changing your own habits doesn't necessarily seem to be one of them.
Anyone who does not want to continue living at the expense of future generations or other people should therefore Putting an end to the exploitation of nature for our own way of life and learn to live more sustainably. Switch to a green electricity provider, Eat less meatReducing our own plastic waste, traveling in a more environmentally conscious way and taking public transport more often instead of flying or driving would definitely be a good start.
Ending inconsistent behavior means reconciling speech and action
I can imagine that you would support most of the things in this post - but also that you are still behaving in the opposite way. Sometimes without knowing it, but perhaps even though you know it. Inconsistency is mostly a result of our ingrained habitsthat need to be discarded first. But not paying more for things you don't want anyway should be a good motivation.
Fortunately, demand determines supply. We are able to adapt and make rational decisions, even when drastic changes are required. Change is often difficult.
I very much hope that this little reality check has helped you. Have you discovered any inner conflicts or contradictions between your attitude and your actions? If so, this is your chance to put an end to your possibly inconsistent behavior.
Do you have any questions, tips or suggestions? Are there perhaps things that you have unintentionally supported? Then I look forward to your comment.
Stay consistent,
PS.: Do you already know the Ostrich tactics? You can find out more about how we humans deceive ourselves and avoid problems in the linked article.
References:
₁ Deutsche Welthungerhilfe e.V.: Hunger: Spread, causes & consequences, available at https://t1p.de/ijuj. [04.10.2022].
₂ Deutsche Welthungerhilfe e.V.: Put an end to food waste, available at https://www.welthungerhilfe.de/aktuelles/blog/lebensmittelverschwendung. [04.10.2022].
₃ M. P. Rowland: 11 Facts About Your Food That Will Shock You (as at: 03.01.2017), available at https://t1p.de/2sr1. [14.07.2020].
₄ INPE: Amount of deforested area in the Amazon region from 1990 to 2021, available at https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/478063/umfrage/menge-der-abgeholzten-waldflaeche-im-amazonasgebiet. [04.10.2022].
₅ Pro REGENWALD e. V.: Meat is a piece of vitality, available at https://www.pro-regenwald.de/hg_fleisch. [04.10.2022].
₆ Federal Agency for Civic Education/bpb: Racism, available at https://www.bpb.de/kurz-knapp/lexika/lexikon-in-einfacher-sprache/322448/rassismus. [04.10.2022].
₇ Press and Information Office of the Federal Government: Bees need our protection (19.05.2018), available at https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/aktuelles/bienen-brauchen-unseren-schutz-1008800. [04.10.2022].
₈ youknow: Bee mortality explained in 3 minutes, YouTube, 10.11.2016, Web, 04.10.2022 at 15:50, in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1PAb2My-Qs.
₉ S. Greifsmühlen: Aktuelle Studie - Das große Ladensterben (24.04.2019), available at https://www.presseportal.de/pm/52458/4253637. [04.10.2022].
₁₀ German Retail Association: Amazon expands its power in retail, available at https://de.statista.com/infografik/22272/anteil-von-amazon-an-den-einzelhandelsumsaetzen-in-deutschland. [04.10.2022].
