A standard brings unity to a group. Not everyone needs to agree with the standard, but everyone can choose whether or not they’ll comply to it. This logic is what economists and psychologists call the concept of "bounded rationality". For example, if you want to remain a free citizen of society, you will choose to obey the law.

Psychologist Albert Bandura says this (1988): “Freedom is not conceived negatively as the absence of external coercion or constraints. Rather, it is defined positively in terms of the exercise of self-influence. It is because self-influence operates deterministically on action that some measure of directedness and freedom is possible.” 

 

Human free will is defined as the ability to choose, think, and act voluntarily. The decisions you make about how to act in public communicates whose standards you choose to honor. Though this is written as a simple statement, it is not always simple to do consistently because of the role that routines and habits play in daily life. Habits are the brain's way of managing efficiency so that we expend energy on those tasks that are more demanding, those require more thought. (Until you override this efficiency default goal with an intentional goal. For example the effort required to brush your teeth is different from the energy used to solve a math equation.) The problem with the automacy of the brain/body connection is that as you mature, your goals change but developing new habits to meet those goals is a process that takes time, practice and self-discipline so you can rewire the brain to develop new neural pathways. Aside from learning the new behavior, new cues, triggers, and memories need to be associated with the new behavior so eventually the new behavior becomes a habit and replaces the old one. This is what makes behavioral change difficult to master. It takes, first and foremost, free-will followed by continuous self-discipline and persistence (discernment and resiliency).

​

The brain automacy makes change difficult to implement. Change requires the skill of self-discipline so you can exercise control over your thoughts and feelings while remaining focused on goal achievement, despite personal or social distractions. Discernment is a skill like resiliency in that the more you use it the better you get at it and the higher the likelihood that you’ll persist through the change process to achieve your goal(s). Discernment is a skill that when you use it habitually in the thinking process, it'll become automatic (like an instinct). It is the ability to anticipate consequences so you can control your mind and body to do as you direct, not react from autopilot mode so you don't blow your goal. Resiliency is a skill you use when plans don't materialize as you envisioned. You

evoke the skill of resiliency to maintain that positive outlook that is necessary to make change happen. So along with a new goal, be prepared to go through the time it takes to discipline your body to do what you direct it to within self-imposed boundaries (1 Corinthians 9:27, 2 Corinthians 10:5).

• Read more on neural plasticity @ https://www.authenticityassociates.com/neural-plasticity-4-steps-to-change-your-brain/. 

• To practice the skill of Insight (discernment and resiliency applied), Do the practical self-evaluation worksheets in tab 3 of this website; "Capture your Vision" to help you learn the benefits of insight.

  • See Appendix 1Q “Resiliency to Overcome Setbacks”.

  • See Appendix 1P on the stages of sustained change.

  • See Appendix 1H for an example of walking with insight.

  

​Consequences help us learn appropriate behavior and lead us to become intentional (rather than impulsive) decision-makers. To be in compliance with laws, you must not act on your subjective desires but be willing to act on the objective, authoritative standard. Your compliance to authority is dependent on your perception and attitude as this will direct your behavior. The acceptance of someone else's authority is easier when you change the way you look at compliance from a mandatory requirement to a voluntary act. The same logic can be applied to your relationship to God. It is your free-will decision to submit to God's authority. You are responsible for managing yourself, whether or not you have Godly integrity as a goal (consistent thought and behavior in spirit, soul and body.) Controlling fleshly impulses and acting out Godly values through righteousness are choices that proves your willing compliance with societal and Spiritual laws (Romans 2:9-11, 13, Cialdini, R. B., & Goldstein, N. J. (2004), Simon, (1972)).  

 

Establishing boundaries clarifies what you deem appropriate to do and is how your "yes means yes and your no, no" (Matthew 5:36). In Romans chapter 13 the Apostle Paul uses a government example of how citizens choose to restrict their free will in order to preserve it. Self-will and God’s-will can live in harmony when you use your free-will to choose trust and obey God, rather than yourself (Joshua 24:15). This free-will decision to invite God into your life (through the surrender of your control) activates the Holy Spirit to empower your holy decisions and as a result, you experience the consequences as recorded throughout the Bible (2 Corinthians 1:18-22). You'll achieve cognitive consistency when you have developed righteous habits that communicate your Christian values.

• Read more about boundaries at https://www.gotquestions.org/boundaries-biblical.html).

 

Make responsible choices! ,void self-gratification as your primary motive, adjust your attitude and behavior to reflect your new thinking and ask God to help you change (1 Thessalonians 5:12-23). Be intentional and choose to practice the principles of what you believe! Cheerfully honor boundaries rather than trying to convince yourself to conform to requirements! 

• Revisit Appendices 1F & 1J for more on learning to use your faith. 

​

Do you choose willful compliance or forced conformity? ... check your attitude to determine the answer.