Neal Martin explains why it is do difficult to make changes if you attempt to do so based solely on your conscious or rational mind. He also explains that we need to have our subconscious and conscious minds working together if we want to be successful in changing behavior. It is crucial for us to understand that habits are not cyclical but are springs and once loaded can work for or against us.
If we want to change behavior we must disrupt old habits while we create new ones. To disrupt old habits:
- Don’t load the spring
- Eliminate the cue
- Reframe the feedback
To create new habits:
- Translate goal into behavior
- Establish a clear context
- Develop a reliable cue
- Create a powerful reinforcement
- Repeat until it feels normal
If we consider how difficult it can be to change personal behaviors perhaps we can appreciate how difficult it can be to change behavior in organizations. These principles can be applied to organizations and through models like the Influencer and 4DX we can disrupt old organization habits with new ones. Not an easy task because “People who like this stuff…like this stuff” but it can be done.
I thought all TedTalks changed lives. All the ones I have watched managed to stir the emotions inside of me to the point of change but then I started thinking have I ever really watched one and went out and conquered the world? One time I did a promise wall with my school after watching Alex Keen’s “Because I said I would.” Watching TedTalks and being emotionally stirred to the point of bookmarking the videos and saving them for another day when I need a little inspiration has become my habit. I know I need to overcome this habit so I can make some changes in my approach to using TedTalks as effective communication tools for myself and others. I do see where I need to appeal to the emotions of the teachers I’m trying to get on board with blended learning. I need to provide emotional connections so they will remember and hopefully make good judgements about blended learning.
There are so many factors that impact change. I think it is important that we do something with the TED talks if we want to benefit from them. More information just on its own won’t make a difference. That information has to be acted upon and internalized. People have to make the information their own and this is the challenge in moving people forward.