Our mind and Taylor Swift

I’ve never had a very high opinion of Taylor Swift (not that it matters to her!). I find it both interesting and a little…exploitative how quickly she goes through her relationships and then writes songs about them. But then I’ve heard people argue, why shouldn’t she? She’s young, beautiful and (some might say) talented. She’s only being smart by making the best out of the situation, and she should exploit it whilst she is still young and she can get away with it.

And then I saw this and this, and I gained a little bit of affection for her sass. What did I like about it? That she was caught in a private moment expressing surprise and perhaps even disgust for what happened at the VMAs. That was the real, un-PR’d her.

Isn’t it incredible how quickly our mind changes, and how little it takes to change our minds? You might say, “Well, maybe you’re just fickle.” Trust me baby, I have very strong opinions. So consider this instead – what stuff have you liked or disliked over the years, that you now don’t really think twice about? Hated vegetables as a kid, but can’t get enough of salads now you’re older? Couldn’t sit still for a nap when you were younger, but will find any excuse for some shut-eye as an adult?

How our mind changes as we grow older is well-documented. Not only does our environment around us change (thereby influencing our decisions), but so does how we relate to our environment based on our increased exposure to the world and our expanding knowledge.

Let’s go back to Taylor Swift as an example of how this can happen even when we’re adults. My opinion of her changed because the object I related her to changed, from Adele to Miley Cyrus. Because her behaviour was incongruous with what I like about Adele, I did not like Ms Swift. But because her behaviour corresponded with my reaction towards Miley Cyrus at the VMAs, I gained a bit of affection for her.

So what am I trying to say? Don’t get too stuck on your opinions, and don’t make permanent decisions out of temporary emotions because chances are, you’ll probably regret it later. Why?

Well, there’s the spiritual reason – Buddha said attachment causes suffering. Attachment isn’t necessarily to clothes, food, money, fame, reputation. Attachment can also be towards something less tangible, for example the wish to never be wrong. Not wanting to be wrong and arguing our corner although we’re very obviously wrong can cause us suffering through, for example, our being ‘forced’ to make the wrong decision because we can’t let go of the fact we were wrong.

Then there’s the non-spiritual reason – you’ll almost always see things differently in time. So is it worth it making a decision based on information you know will change in the future? Perhaps it’s worth learning how to swallow our pride and make decisions with a longer term perspective.

So there you have it. Taylor Swift showing you how our mind will flip back and forth and really, it’s okay to be wrong 🙂

ps. Lady Gaga was awesome for defending One Direction. Come on guys, booing is so not cool.

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