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Creating Effective Change

Posted in Personal Development on July 16th, 2007 by Jenny

Are you doing everything “right” and still not reaching your goals? Have you set out strong, trying all of the recommended steps to achieve your goals - such as visioning your dreams, setting time lines and focusing your energies on exactly what you wish to happen - but have failed to have any significant change months later? Do you find the discomfort associated with change causes you to quit before you reach your goal?

Failure on the road to success is common. It is hard to change, even when the change is desired. So difficult in fact, that most of us are unable to do it. A few months ago I thought it was tied to motivation, unrealistic goals and perhaps resolve. However, science is beginning to offer some deeper answers, particularly at the intersection of psychology (the study of human behavior and the mind) and neuroscience (the study of the physical brain).

Erin and my friend Mark forwarded an interesting article that I would like to share with you. It explains why change is so difficult on a biological level and what appears to work if you truly want to make changes in your life. The article is called The Neuroscience of Leadership and you can read it in full by clicking here. Although the focus of the article is on organizational change (and well worth reading from this perspective particularly if you are in management), it is also quite applicable to personal change.

Based on solid scientific research, this article offers six conclusions on how to create change while respecting the physiology of the brain. Interestingly, some of these conclusions go against commonly accepted “realities” when it comes to goal setting and achievement. To summarize:

  • Change is painful. In fact change brings about actual physical discomfort;
  • Rewards do not work in the long run when it comes to creating effective change;
  • Humanism, or being understanding and gently “cheerleading” someone through change is typically ineffective;
  • Chemical and physical changes are observed in the brain through the act of paying attention to the desired change;
  • What you expect to happen strongly impacts what does happen; and
  • The more often and more focused your attention on the outcome you desire the more likely it is to occur.

    • Rather than attempt to rewrite what has already been beautifully written, I strongly encourage you to take a couple of minutes and read the article for yourself. You will not be sorry!

    Related Posts:
    Understanding the Daunting Goals
    Are You On Automatic Pilot?
    Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits Category

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    This entry was posted in Personal Development on Monday, July 16th, 2007 by Jenny. You can follow responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

    2 Responses to “Creating Effective Change”

    1. Liara Covert Says:
      July 24th, 2007 at 7:18 pm

      I don’t think change has to be painful. However, some people believe that things aren’t worth doing if they don’t feel as though they have to push themselves and sacrifice greatly to earn them.

      Another belief is that your sense of true purpose and greatest fulfillment will emerge from exerting effort in directions which come quite easily. In this sense, many people can be blind to the obvious solutions. Do what you’re good at. Follow your heart. Heed your intution. Why make life more complicated than it has to be?

    2. Jenny Says:
      July 25th, 2007 at 10:21 am

      Liara,
      While I do agree that change doesn’t have to be painful I do believe that all change (even the best most value affirming change) is uncomfortable at times.

      I don’t know that I am convinced that effort exerted towards my areas of greatest fulfillment is any less uncomfortable (or even painful) than any other change. I just tend to be more willing to overlook the discomfort and other ripple effects in my life because the process is inherently more interesting than when I am trying to “fix” something I perceive as broken in either myself or my environment. I will however try to be more aware and see if what you suggest is the case.

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