{"id":46322,"date":"2021-08-20T10:22:23","date_gmt":"2021-08-20T14:22:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=46322"},"modified":"2021-08-29T20:05:11","modified_gmt":"2021-08-30T00:05:11","slug":"elements-of-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/elements-of-change\/","title":{"rendered":"The 3 Elements of Change: Set Yourself Up for Success"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What is the key to changing an undesirable behavior and making the change last? Is there a formula behind a successful behavior change?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Successful change involves certain patterns that you can intentionally engineer to significantly improve your change success rate. According to Chip and Dan Heath, the authors of <em>Switch: How to Change Things When <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-change-is-hard\/\">Change Is Hard<\/a><\/em>, there are three elements of behavior change: 1) the rational you, 2) the emotional you, and 3) the path forward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Keep reading to learn about the three elements of change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The 3 Elements of Behavior Change<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>No matter where you\u2019re trying to effect change\u2014at your organization, in yourself, in society\u2014nothing changes unless&#8230;something changes. This feels fairly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/common-sense-pamphlet\/\">common sense<\/a>, yet many attempts at change fail. On the other hand, you\u2019ve likely experienced plenty of changes that succeed, such as starting a new career, having children, or sticking to a daily exercise routine. Oftentimes, we don\u2019t know <em>why<\/em> some of these changes work, we just know that they do.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ll discuss the patterns of successful change and how you can <em>regularly<\/em> engineer them, significantly improving your change success rate. First, it\u2019s important to understand the three main elements of change.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Element of Change #1: Rational You<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Your rational side is the part of you that sets goals, plans for the future, and carefully analyzes problems before taking action. In short, this is the \u201cyou\u201d that you <em>want<\/em> to be.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>However, there\u2019s a major hidden flaw of your rational side that actually holds you back from making changes.<\/strong> Your rational side tends to overthink problems, overanalyze possible solutions, and get stuck in details, information, and options. Though your rational side <em>wants<\/em> to make a change, it paralyzes itself and holds you back from taking action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>For example, making plans to exercise more is fairly straightforward. However, your rational side will go into overdrive\u2014analyzing the types of exercise you like and dislike, trying to find the best workout routine for your body type and goals, researching gym memberships, checking where exercise will fit into your busy schedule, and so on. Instead of exercising more, you get stuck <em>thinking about<\/em> exercising more.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Element of Change #2: Emotional You&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Your emotional side is the part of you that acts instinctively and is easily driven by the possibility of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/immediate-gratification-2\/\">instant gratification<\/a>. When changes fail, it\u2019s usually your emotional side\u2019s fault\u2014change hinges on the ability to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/defer-gratification\/\">delay gratification<\/a> and make short-term sacrifices in exchange for a long-term payoff.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>However, there\u2019s a major hidden <\/strong><strong><em>advantage<\/em><\/strong><strong> of your emotional side that can drive successful change. <\/strong>Your emotional side is <em>much stronger<\/em> than your rational side\u2014if you can harness the energy of your emotions and point it in the right direction, it will do most of the legwork in getting you to your goal.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>For example, if your goal is to get more exercise, you might get yourself excited and emotionally invested in exercise by focusing on how you\u2019ll feel when you finally complete your first marathon. It becomes easier to put on your running shoes once you elevate exercise from an obligation to an exciting process with an emotionally charged goal.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Rational You and Emotional You <em>Must<\/em> Sync Up&nbsp;<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>When change fails, it\u2019s often due to a conflict for control between your rational side and your emotional side. <\/strong>Jonathan Haidt explains this conflict in <em>The Happiness Hypothesis, <\/em>where he compares the struggle between your rational side and emotional side to a rider atop an elephant, urging it forward. The elephant is far stronger than the rider\u2014if they have different ideas about where to go, the rider will lose <em>every<\/em> time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>This is why, even though you rationally understand the importance of sticking to your diet, you give up and indulge as soon as you see something you\u2019re craving. The elephant overpowers the rider and drives you straight into a cheesecake.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-happiness-hypothesis\/1-page-summary\">Read our summary of <em>The Happiness Hypothesis<\/em><\/a><em> <\/em>for a closer look at Haidt\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-elephant-and-the-rider\/\">rider and elephant<\/a> analogy.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Element of Change #3: The Path Forward<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The \u201cpath forward\u201d is the environment you create around a change\u2014a successful path is shaped to keep both the rational rider and the emotional elephant moving forward together.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A clear, successful path has two important elements:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>There aren\u2019t any instant-gratification distractions lying in sight, off to the side. These temptations will cause your emotional side to overpower your rational side, veering off the path and getting lost.&nbsp;<\/li><li>The road is straight and clear of roadblocks. These will cause your rational ride to stop and overthink which direction to move in or how to solve the roadblock. The pair will never make it to their destination.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Interestingly, the path can either work <\/strong><strong><em>independently <\/em><\/strong><strong>of your rational and emotional elements, or it can <\/strong><strong><em>work in tandem<\/em><\/strong><strong> with them.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The path can be an independent \u201cquick track\u201d to change. However, this only works if it\u2019s absolutely foolproof\u2014that is, the path is completely straight and clear with <em>no<\/em> distractions. This can be very difficult to achieve, meaning distractions are likely to happen. And, because you bypassed getting a handle on your rational and emotional selves, these small distractions irreversibly derail your progress toward change.<\/li><li>The path works better as an aid to your in-sync rational and emotional sides. On this path, there may be distractions or unexpected twists\u2014but since your rational and emotional selves are a balanced team, you can shake off the road bump and continue moving forward.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Now that you know the essential elements of change, you are set up to effect real change in your life or organization.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is the key to changing an undesirable behavior and making the change last? Is there a formula behind a successful behavior change? Successful change involves certain patterns that you can intentionally engineer to significantly improve your change success rate. According to Chip and Dan Heath, the authors of Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard, there are three elements of behavior change: 1) the rational you, 2) the emotional you, and 3) the path forward. Keep reading to learn about the three elements of change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":46330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,9,43],"tags":[465],"class_list":["post-46322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-management","category-psychology","category-self-improvement","tag-switch","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The 3 Elements of Change: Set Yourself Up for Success - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Understanding the elements of change can significantly improve your change success rate. 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