This post continues our series on the common mistakes in behavior change, and what you can do about them.
Mistake #6: Underestimating the power of triggers
We all rely on triggers for our habitual behaviors. For example, I always floss right after brushing. (Yes, I know you’re supposed to do it before.) I don’t think to floss when I turn on the TV, or when I hear the microwave beep.
If you want your team to begin practicing a new behavior, find a place for it within a current, established process.
Otherwise they’ll forget…and so would you.
The Key: No behavior happens without a trigger.
Mistake #7: Believing information leads to action
From Clotaire Rapaille (The Culture Code):
Years ago, Tufts University invited me to lecture during a symposium on obesity…
Lecturer after lecturer offered solutions for America’s obesity problem, all of which revolved around education. Americans would be thinner if only they knew about good nutrition and the benefits of exercise, they told us. Slimming down the entire country was possible through an aggressive public awareness campaign…
When it was my turn to speak, I couldn’t help beginning with an observation.
“I think it is fascinating that the other speakers today have suggested that education is the answer to our country’s obesity problem,” I said. I slowly gestured around the room. “If education is the answer, then why hasn’t it helped more of you?”
There were audible gasps in the auditorium when I said this, quite a few snickers, and five times as many sneers.
Unsurprisingly, Tufts never invited me to lecture again.
As this series is suggesting…there is a lot that goes into behavior change, and information is only one piece.
The Key: We humans aren’t so rational.
