I think cognitive dissonance works to shield people from taking ownership of their own contradictions, because it’s more comfortable to double down / shut down and believe you’re correct, than to concede and change your perspective or redirect your actions.

Definitely there’s lots of people who actively enjoy doing it as a method of power/control, though I’d say it tends to run in the brain’s background more than the foreground for people, hence the subconscious factor !

yes it is more comfortable but i'd argue the act of choosing comfort is willfull

I'm glad you said that, I was thinking about that afterwards haha.

Continued complacence / allowing comfortability to dictate your actions definitely requires more active participation from the person.

I think a lot of people resign their willpower / don't have much (if at all), whether it's due to things like brainwashing, trauma-induced defenses, safety hiding among the majority, or broader issues like genetic / inherited low emotional intelligence / critical thinking skills.

I'm not sure a clear line can be drawn between the willful, the unwilling, and those who have lost their will.