{"id":46561,"date":"2021-08-27T10:40:23","date_gmt":"2021-08-27T14:40:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=46561"},"modified":"2021-08-28T10:58:35","modified_gmt":"2021-08-28T14:58:35","slug":"overcome-resistance-to-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcome-resistance-to-change\/","title":{"rendered":"To Overcome Resistance to Change, Appeal to Identity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Are you the kind of person who puts a lot of effort into making sure things stay as they are? Do you resist change?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you need to overcome <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-do-people-resist-change\/\">resistance to change<\/a>, it can help to appeal to identity\u2014what kind of person someone is, what they value, and how they make decisions. You need to either align your proposed change with someone\u2019s identity or align their identity with your proposed change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Keep reading to learn how to cultivate identity to overcome resistance to change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Cultivate Identity to Overcome Resistance to Change<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When making decisions, we usually follow one of two lines of thinking:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1) The consequences of the decision.<\/strong> We do a cost-benefit analysis to determine which decision will have the most satisfying outcome. We usually follow this line of thinking when it comes to small, simple decisions\u2014such as what to get for lunch.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>However, relying on this thought process when trying to create significant changes <em>won\u2019t work <\/em>because it\u2019s too hard to predict the outcome of a change\u2014there\u2019s no way to know what the most satisfying outcome will be.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2)<\/strong> <strong>Our identity.<\/strong> We ask ourselves: Who am I? What would the kind of person I am do in this situation?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>When trying to get people on board with ambiguous ideas or big changes, you&#8217;re more likely to overcome resistance to change if you appeal to identity\u2014the essential part of your sense of self and the way you make decisions.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Cultivate Identity&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Identities can be relatively flexible in that people naturally adopt different identities throughout their lives, such as <em>parent<\/em>, <em>world-traveler<\/em>, or <em>musician.<\/em> <strong>However, identities can be rigid in that <em>if you propose a change that contradicts someone\u2019s identity, they\u2019ll naturally resist.<\/em><\/strong><em> <\/em>Therefore, to overcome resistance to change you need to either align your proposed change with someone\u2019s identity <em>or<\/em> align their identity with your proposed change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>When <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/propose-change\/\">proposing a change<\/a>, start by asking yourself if the people you\u2019re appealing to would say: \u201cI want to be the kind of person who makes this change.\u201d <\/strong>If so, you don\u2019t have to convince them of much\u2014they\u2019ll happily make a change that nudges them closer to an identity they want to have. If the person <em>doesn\u2019t <\/em>aspire to be someone who makes the change, you\u2019ll have to convince them to adopt a new identity to overcome resistance to change.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To do this, start small. Ask your audience to perform a minor change-supporting behavior. This small <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/behavior-prompts\/\">behavior prompts<\/a> them to see themselves differently\u2014the behavior serves as evidence that they <em>do<\/em> align with the identity you suggested. In turn, they start performing more behaviors that align with the change, which reinforces the idea that they\u2019re the type of person who makes the change.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>For example, while asking college students to buy less bottled water, you encounter several students who state that they\u2019re not interested in being more environmentally conscious. You ask these students to sign a \u201cKeep North College Clean\u201d pledge\u2014this prompts these students to think about themselves as responsible citizens. They start picking up trash on campus and participating in clean-up initiatives. Six months later, you get them to commit to not buying bottled water.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Example: Saving the St. Lucia Parrot&nbsp;<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1977, the St. Lucia Parrot was well on its way to extinction due to hunting, the illegal pet trade, and habitat destruction. Paul Butler, a freshly-graduated conservation student, was tasked with saving the St. Lucia Parrot on a shoestring budget.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He\u2019d studied the parrots and came up with several crucial steps for preserving the species. However, each step required law changes that depended on the support and votes of the public, who didn\u2019t care about the fate of the parrot. <strong>To save the species, he needed to overcome resistance to change and get St. Lucians on board with his plans.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He didn\u2019t have enough fuel to approach the issue from an analytical angle\u2014there wasn\u2019t any financial gain to saving the parrot, and it didn\u2019t make up a vital part of the ecosystem. Most St. Lucians wouldn\u2019t notice the parrot\u2019s disappearance at all.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Realizing he needed to use emotions to overcome resistance to change and get the St. Lucians on board, <strong>Butler decided to appeal to their identity and align it with his cause by establishing the idea that <em>St. Lucians are people who are proud and protective of their rare parrot.<\/em> <\/strong>He started by making the parrot a public mascot of the island, inserting the parrot into every aspect of St. Lucian life.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>He gave out t-shirts, hosted puppet shows starring the parrot, had volunteers dressed as parrots lead educational events, got a local band to record parrot-themed songs, and had a telecom company create calling cards with the parrot on them. At public events, he reminded people: \u201cThis parrot is <em>ours alone<\/em> and it\u2019s our job to protect it.\u201d&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The St. Lucians quickly adopted the parrot as a central part of their national identity and threw their support behind the law changes that ensured the parrots\u2019 conservation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why Identity Cultivation Fails\u2014and Why That\u2019s Okay<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>You can convince people to take on new identities\u2014or take on a new identity yourself\u2014relatively quickly, but it can take much longer to fully overcome resistance to change and <em>consistently make the decisions and perform the behaviors of that identity.&nbsp;<\/em>For example, you might convince a college student in a few minutes to identify as environmentally conscious, but it might take her several weeks or months to consistently recycle, bike to work, or bring reusable bags to the grocery store.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Are you the kind of person who puts a lot of effort into making sure things stay as they are? Do you resist change? When you need to overcome resistance to change, it can help to appeal to identity\u2014what kind of person someone is, what they value, and how they make decisions. You need to either align your proposed change with someone\u2019s identity or align their identity with your proposed change. Keep reading to learn how to cultivate identity to overcome resistance to change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":46572,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,42,9],"tags":[465],"class_list":["post-46561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-management","category-motivation","category-psychology","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>To Overcome Resistance to Change, Appeal to Identity - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The key to overcoming resistance to change is to appeal to identity. 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