Our behaviours are hard to stop AND start

The two-edged sword of our tendency to keep on keeping-on

We are creatures of habit.� I am sure everyone is aware of this.� Habits are hard to get started (think: beginning an exercise program) and also hard to break (think: driving the same way to work every day, even when you were meant to stop off somewhere on the way).

But it�s not just ingrained habits that are hard to start and stop.� Pretty much everything that we do can gather momentum.� Take writing this blog, for instance.� I have been procrastinating for three hours this morning on getting this started, but now it is going, my fingers are literally flying over the keyboard with a mind of their own.� I am not even thinking about doing anything else (well, I am now, because I just thought about not thinking about anything else and it triggered the thought�..stupid).

If you have read my recent newsletter on similar subjects, you will remember that we are wired to conserve energy and be as lazy as possible. Our brains like us to engage in the things that are easiest to do.

What’s the hardest thing to do?

And what is one of the hardest, most energy-consuming things we can do?� Change.� That�s right � change is hard work for us at a cellular level.� Firstly, we need to analyse what we want to do and start to prioritise action, then we need to apply the brakes to the thing we are currently doing, and after all of that, we have to get organised and started on the thing that we think we should be doing instead.� This burns a heck of a lot of our cognitive �fuel�.� So our brain would prefer that we didn�t do it.

This is why it is hardest for us to change behaviours (or stick to new ones) when we are most �run-down�.� If you are completely exhausted and are on a diet, then don�t walk past the cupcake shop!

Momentum: a blessing and a curse

You can see the two ways that this works and the pros and cons of this behavioural tendency.� It�s hard to get going on the thing that you need to do.� But, once you get going, you know it�s going to be hard to stop.� The momentum is a blessing.

Put in the effort.� Make the conscious choice.� Start doing the things that make you most productive and successful.

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While the Best Doubt Themselves…….

If you�ve known someone that was really bad at something who, mind-bogglingly, thought they were a genius, then don�t despair.� It wasn�t just them.

Studies show that the worse we are at something, the more likely we are to rate ourselves as outstanding.� This is known as the Dunning-Kruger effect.

In a series of logical reasoning tasks, these two experimenters found that those with results at the bottom end of the bell-curve held inflated opinions of their performance and talents.� The bottom 25% of subjects on the test estimated that they would be better than 60% of participants.

The other astonishing finding is that those who score highest actually doubt their talents the most.

The simple explanation is that those at the bottom of the performance table don�t actually know what good performance looks like.� They are uneducated and unaware of their errors and mistakenly interpret them as good outcomes.� This happens even when you compare their answers to the right answers before the test is graded.

So next time you come across a terrible leader, manager, driver, writer or speller, don�t be surprised if they tell you they are wonderful.

There is some recent neuroscience research that suggests the brain is wired to choose the �default� option whenever a choice is too difficult. There seems to be a decision difficulty ‘threshold’ above which, we are wired to choose the status quo; that might be the thing that everyone else is doing, or the thing that we have been doing up until this point. Or we might even choose to do nothing if that’s an option.

Think about behaviours for a second. When a decision to change behaviours is a difficult one – if we aren�t completely convinced that the benefits of change outweigh the costs � chances are we will revert to our old behaviour or, at the very least, just go with what everyone else is doing.

This has big implications for team culture, organisational behaviours, and even changing behaviours on a personal level. When the choice is easy, we will choose the behaviour we think is right, even if we believe that the majority of people chose the alternative.

What makes the choice easy? If we show people that the new behaviour is clearly more beneficial, if we convince them that it makes sense, if they can see that if makes a difference and if they can see that we are consistent in our response towards it, then their choice becomes clear.

People always do the thing that they feel has most benefit to them. If you are trying to change behaviours in your team or organization and are getting little traction, then chances are that the benefit of the behaviours is not clear to the people who are unwilling to change.

Mediocrity is the easy choice. Behaviours that underlie success are usually difficult and force us to evaluate the benefits relative to our own comfort levels. When the benefits and purpose are truly clear, this is the point at which the choice to change becomes simple.