Easy to change your attitude?

I agree with you, in that it is possible to change an attitude, but not easy. It is hard to give up on what you used to believe in, especially because if you have to accept a new idea, then it means your old one was wrong. Even though it is difficult, it is still very important to allow your attitude towards certain things, to adapt. Otherwise we would always just be stuck in the past. Sometimes, time is the only solution for people who are especially stubborn.

Giving up on what you believe in is not an easy task. It takes years to overcome our previous thoughts sometimes. And seeing the results with your own eyes is not even enough. No one wants to be wrong is the main thing. Losers got no where in life during the Renaissance. People had to fend for themselves and not all were willing to give up the what had worked for so long. When scientists began to unravel the universe and the Earth orbiting the Sun, everyone, even the Church went mad. This idea of the Earth revolving around the Sun we now know to be true, but when it was first presented it was crazy to many people. This is just one example of changing attitudes, and it goes to show, change is not easy.

I feel like the attitudes of many people are shaped by their perception of the environment. When someone begins to realize that the old perception is decidedly wrong, they must somehow change their attitude. One way to do this is to assimilate the new idea into their existing schema. The other option is to accommodate for the new idea by changing their schema. I think that we most often assimilate and become so used to doing this that we find it difficult to accommodate. I think of the example of math problems: it is so much easier to think that specific questions can be solved using a familiar formula with a slight modification than changing the way you think about variables in order to introduce a new and easier method. I think that we are cognitive misers and that we always try to simplify our beliefs by adding to our existing ones. We find it painful to have to undergo a major transformation such as viewing the universe as heliocentric instead of geocentric.

Giving up on something you have believed for a majority of your life is near impossible, which is most unfortunate. If people would accept their wrongs and stop being stubborn we could be a much more advanced society. However, this is asking way to much out of individuals. To drop a belief on a dime, regardless if it is right or wrong, is just asking to much and will never happen.

You’re right. Changing attitudes can be really difficult. And I think older people seem to have more difficulty in changing lifelong thoughts or behaviors. One of my favorite TV shows back in my country is about correcting bad behaviors or habits of children. A psychiatrist appears in the show and tries to treat spoiled children. The interesting thing about the show is that always the cause of children’s bad behaviors or habits is wrong education or attitude of parents. Psychiatrist tries to change children’s behaviors by fixing both parents' and children’s behavior. It is remarkable to watch how easily children can improve in a positive way but changing parent’s old habits or attitudes take longer time. Negative correlation between age and changing attitudes can simply explained, as the longer period of time you held one side of an opinion, the harder it takes to deny it and change to an alternative explanation.

I agree with the fact that it is possible to change your attitude. However, I think it is a really difficult thing to do because you have to "suck up your pride" and realize that your old notion was in fact wrong.