Switch by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

Yesterday I wanted to change the world. Today I just want to lose weight. Why are some changes so hard to realize? Am I lazy, unfocused, undisciplined? According to brothers, Chip and Dan Heath, some significant changes are hard because the process to make such changes is exhausting. We are just too tired to follow through.

That seems a bit obvious. If change weren't exhausting, it would be more appealing. But what about the changes we make that aren't so exhausting? Why are some changes difficult and we procrastinate in facing them, while others seem to happen without much effort on our part?

In Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard, the Heath brothers explain this phenomenon as a conflict between our rational mind and our emotional mind. They contend that if these two sides are not aligned, a change in behavior is much more difficult, and is in fact exhausting, while if the two sides are aligned, change happens without much resistance.

This is not a new concept. Philosophers from Plato to Freud to modern day theorists talk about the two sides of the brain affecting our feelings and actions. The Heath brothers use the analogy set forth in The Happiness Hypothesis developed by Jonathan Haidt, a psychologist at the University of Virginia. Dr. Haidt calls the rational side of our brain the Rider, which sits on top of the emotional side of our brain, the Elephant.  Our Rider may want to make a big important change, like losing weight or quitting smoking, but our Elephant may reject that goal - or at least want to cheat. It's a long term versus short term view of pleasure. When you "rationalize" that this one helping of peach cobbler won't hurt your diet and it happens over and over again, your smaller Rider has lost control of the large, megaton, lumbering Elephant. Eventually, the Rider becomes too tired to continue trying to move the Elephant in the right direction, and the Elephant wins. Let's face facts, Elephants are not easy to reign in! The Rider is not lazy or unmotivated - it's just too tired to continue the battle.

We've all had situations where our Elephants have taken control. And that is not always a bad thing. While our Elephants may be the ones searching for instant pleasure, they are also the ones that allow us to exhibit emotion. Sympathy, loyalty, and protective instincts for our children and ourselves are all in the Elephant's domain. We need our Elephants on board for big changes. If our Riders are always in control, we would spend our lifetime over-analyzing every little thought and idea, "spinning our wheels" forever. Elephants get things done. Who can stand in the way of an Elephant? Once we have our emotional side on board, change can happen.

The key is just that. Both sides have to work together.  The Rider needs to plan out the process, and the Elephant has to give us the motivation, energy and passion to make it happen.

So now I have a plan with the key points. I can lose that five pounds I gained during the last move. After that, changing the world will be easy.

 

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