It’s the salutation of the season: “Happy New Year! Do you
have any New Year Resolutions?”
New Year Resolutions are a double-edged sword. On the one
hand, creating positive change in one’s life is good; on the other hand, our
intentions often crash and burn into a sea of self-doubt – not so good.
Why is it so hard to change?
Behavior change is important in my work with clients because
organization is more about behavior than organizing tools (see Getting
Organized). Our behavior is a
complex subject so I study many disciplines in my journey to help the people I
work with: psychology, neurology, philosophy, and spirituality are among those
disciplines.
My recent article for Java Journal (my favorite newspaper), The Spark of Change:
Getting Organized, blended information from several disciplines. My article
mainly focused on the internal work – the head and heart stuff – that happens
with change. Interestingly, NPR aired a story yesterday (January 2, “What
Vietnam Taught Us About Breaking Bad Habits” by Alix Spiegel ) on the role
of environment in addressing addiction. According to Duke University
psychologist, David T. Neal, "People, when they perform a behavior a lot —
especially in the same environment, same sort of physical setting — outsource
the control of the behavior to the environment." When we practice a
behavior frequently we develop environmental cues to trigger that behavior. The
result is we don’t have to expend a lot of mental energy to sustain that
behavior. But if we are trying to change that behavior, the environmental cues
can make change difficult because of their link to the old behavior. What to do
about those New Year’s Resolutions?
Wendy Wood,
University of Southern California psychologist, explains that disrupting a
pattern of behavior in a small way can be helpful - "It's a brief sort of
window of opportunity to think, 'Is this really what I want to do?' "
Although
there is still a lot we do not know about making behavior changes, the value of
small changes as a path to larger change, seems to be validated. Perhaps after we have created our list
of resolutions, then our next step should be to ask what small thing can we do
to get ourselves just a little closer to the goal of the resolution. Often we approach resolutions with a
“quantum leap” of behavior change – we try to change a lot very quickly. It
takes a lot of effort to sustain “quantum leaps.” But it takes comparatively
little energy to make a small change.
The assumption is changes that take less energy are easier to adopt than
changes that take more energy.
I think the
assumption is a reasonable one. My theory is that gradual change is easier
because it provides time for us to integrate changes with our environment. The
process brings to mind the act of whittling. When whittling, a figurine is
shaped by gradually shaving off small pieces of wood. It takes little energy to
make one stroke of the knife across the wood. Additionally, with each small
stroke you are evaluating and deciding where the next small stroke should be
made. That is, the results of each stroke affect how the next stroke is made.
But it is really hard to cut a chunk of wood with a knife. Several attempts of
cutting off chunks of wood will not get you the desired figure (and you might
end up getting cut in the process!). The analogy is not perfect but I think it
illustrates how small changes can create a significant lasting change.
What small
change can you make in becoming more organized? Perhaps just sorting the mail
each day is a good start. Or putting your keys in a specific pocket of your
purse is enough of a start. Many of my clients start by clearing one small
area, like a tabletop, and vow to keep that small area clear. Over time the
area becomes bigger. Gradually all
of the tiny successes add up and the goal is achieved.
This is not
to say that the only way to permanent change is through a process of making
small changes. As we know, and as I stated in the beginning, human behavior is
very complex, and we do not understand all of its intricacies. However, my
experience is that making small changes is one way to successful a life change.
