{"id":46605,"date":"2021-08-27T10:42:59","date_gmt":"2021-08-27T14:42:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=46605"},"modified":"2021-08-29T20:06:48","modified_gmt":"2021-08-30T00:06:48","slug":"examples-of-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/examples-of-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Copy Success: Learn From Examples of Change"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What can you learn by examining examples of change? Can you copy success to make your own way?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you want to make changes, you should seek out examples of change to see what works and what doesn&#8217;t. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/motivational-success-stories\/\">Success stories<\/a> are not only inspiring, they&#8217;re instructive. Copy success when you find it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read more to learn how to seek out examples of change and put them to work for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Finding Examples of Change&nbsp;and Copying Success<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Often, when we want to make changes, our rational selves focus immediately on the problems and possible solutions.<strong> Instead, we should be seeking out examples of change (success stories) that can inform decisions or be emulated. Essentially, we should copy success\u2014looking for what\u2019s <em>already working<\/em>, and doing more of that.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This exercise performs the essential function of interrupting your rational side\u2019s analysis and reflection. While analysis and reflection <em>can<\/em> be helpful in some contexts, too often they stop the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-process-of-change\/\">process of change<\/a> completely\u2014examining one problem reveals 10 more, and it\u2019s easy to get mired in the details. Finding an example of change to copy is what gives your rational side a clear direction to move in. Suddenly, the way forward seems obvious\u2014\u201cwe need to do more of <em>that.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Examining examples of change helps us avoid two major issues that contribute strongly to the inability to change.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>1) Our rational tendency to examine problems instead of solutions means that we\u2019re often preoccupied with the <em>scale <\/em>of the problem\u2014therefore seeking large, complicated solutions to large, complicated problems. <strong>However, examples of change usually reveal that <em>effective solutions can be much smaller than the problem at hand.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>For example, health researchers in West Virginia wanted to get people to eat healthier. If they\u2019d focused only on the large, vague problem of unhealthy diets, they\u2019d have to find ways to explain balanced diets and recommended calorie intake, persuade restaurants to show nutrition information, explain the difference between \u201cgood fat\u201d and \u201cbad fat,\u201d and so on. Instead, they focused on a simple example of change\u2014families who drank 1% milk consumed <em>far<\/em> less saturated fat than families who drank 2% milk. This \u201csuccess story\u201d led them to their simple solution: Push advertising for 1% milk. Within months, whole families had largely solved their fat overconsumption.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>2) We naturally feel defensive or argumentative toward \u201coutsider\u201d solutions, for two reasons:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>First, we believe that solutions from <em>elsewhere<\/em> couldn\u2019t work in the context of <em>here<\/em>. For example, many Americans feel that the universal healthcare systems that many countries have couldn\u2019t work within the context of the United States.<\/li><li>Second, we\u2019re easily insulted by the idea that someone else knows how to solve our problems better than we do. \u201cThe <em>Canadians<\/em> think they can show us how to do healthcare better? Give me a break\u2014ours is the best in the world.\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cInsider\u201d success stories send the message, \u201cThat <em>does<\/em> work here,\u201d and give us the satisfaction of having solved our <em>own<\/em> problem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What can you learn by examining examples of change? Can you copy success to make your own way? When you want to make changes, you should seek out examples of change to see what works and what doesn&#8217;t. Success stories are not only inspiring, they&#8217;re instructive. Copy success when you find it. Read more to learn how to seek out examples of change and put them to work for you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":46608,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,43,30],"tags":[465],"class_list":["post-46605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-self-improvement","category-work","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>Copy Success: Learn From Examples of Change - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Want to make a change? 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Learn how to seek out examples of change to see what works and what doesn&#039;t\u2014and how to copy success when you find it.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/examples-of-change\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-08-27T14:42:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-08-30T00:06:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/examples-of-change.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"375\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Elizabeth Whitworth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Elizabeth Whitworth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/examples-of-change\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/examples-of-change\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13\"},\"headline\":\"Copy Success: Learn From Examples of Change\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-08-27T14:42:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-08-30T00:06:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/examples-of-change\/\"},\"wordCount\":510,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/examples-of-change\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/examples-of-change.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Switch\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Business\",\"Self-Improvement\",\"Work\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/examples-of-change\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/examples-of-change\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/examples-of-change\/\",\"name\":\"Copy Success: Learn From Examples of Change - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/examples-of-change\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/examples-of-change\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/examples-of-change.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-08-27T14:42:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-08-30T00:06:48+00:00\",\"description\":\"Want to make a change? 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