{"id":13089,"date":"2010-06-30T00:17:13","date_gmt":"2010-06-30T06:17:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dangerousintersection.org\/?p=13089"},"modified":"2010-06-30T00:17:13","modified_gmt":"2010-06-30T06:17:13","slug":"how-to-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dangerousintersection.org\/2010\/06\/30\/how-to-change\/","title":{"rendered":"How to change"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Most of the big problems we face today are created by human beings, and they have human solutions.\u00a0 If only we could and would change our ways.\u00a0\u00a0 If only we could switch to a non-fossil fuel economy, we could solve dozens of well-known environmental and political problems.\u00a0 If only we would &#8220;just say no&#8221; to drugs, reckless conduct, sloth, and rampant consumerism.\u00a0 If only we would just buckle down and be more informed and more active citizens, we could keep a better eye on our government.\u00a0 It goes on and on.\u00a0 Well designed solutions already exist for so many of our problems.\u00a0 If only we would change, but we can\u2019t seem to change.\u00a0 We tend to be trapped in our own destructive and ignorant ways.<\/p>\n<p>How can we break out of this stagnant cycle?\u00a0 Back in 2002 at Psychology Today, in an article titled \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/articles\/200210\/the-10-rules-change\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The 10 Rules of Change,<\/a>\u201d\u00a0 Stan Goldberg wrote that change isn\u2019t easy, but it is possible, and there\u2019s more to it than just saying yes (or no).\u00a0 He offers ten observations and strategies for implementing change.\u00a0 They include the following (these are Goldberg\u2019s ideas, as I interpret them):<\/p>\n<p>1. All behaviors are complex.\u00a0\u00a0 Therefore, break down the behavior into smaller parts and take baby steps.\u00a0 If you want to be a better musician, practice your scales, study your theory, practice new pieces, listen carefully to others performing, and a dozen other things.<\/p>\n<p>2. Change is frightening.\u00a0\u00a0 Acknowledge this fear, then force yourself to visualize your new desired behavior in detail so that you can make an accurate comparison with the status quo.\u00a0\u00a0 Also, consider making big changes gradually, if that helps you.<\/p>\n<p>3.\u00a0 Change needs to be positive.\u00a0 Consider rewarding yourself for making the change.\u00a0 But also consider the intrinsic reward of the new behavior.<\/p>\n<p>4.\u00a0 Streamline the process of change and prepare for problems ahead of time.\u00a0 It\u2019s usually not instant or automatic.<\/p>\n<p>5.\u00a0 Blend the change into your life gradually, appreciating the advantages of the new path.\u00a0 Allow enough time to pass for the new routine to become a habit.<\/p>\n<p>6.\u00a0 Monitor your own behavior carefully and consider seeking the feedback of others, to better understand your progress.<\/p>\n<p>7.\u00a0 Communicate structure and stick to that structure, so you and others around you understand what you are in the process of changing.\u00a0 Outline the necessary sequence of events and consider tweaking the parts of the sequence.<\/p>\n<p>8. Practice in many settings, and consider involving others in that practice.<\/p>\n<p>9.\u00a0 Protect the new behavior by making room for it in your schedule and in your environment.<\/p>\n<p>10.\u00a0 Small successes add up to big changes.\u00a0 Thus, treasure the small changes, keeping in mind that a positive attitude goes a long way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most of the big problems we face today are created by human beings, and they have human solutions.  If only we could and would change our ways.   If only we could switch to a non-fossil fuel economy, we could solve dozens of well-known environmental and political problems.  If only we would &#8220;just say no&#8221; to drugs, reckless conduct, sloth, and rampant consumerism.  If only we would just buckle down and be more informed and more active citizens, we could keep a better eye on our government.  It goes on and on.  Well designed solutions already exist for so many of our problems.  If only we would change, but we can\u2019t seem to change.  We tend to be trapped in our own destructive and ignorant ways.<\/p>\n<p>How can we break out of this stagnant cycle?  Back in 2002 at Psychology Today, in an article titled \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/articles\/200210\/the-10-rules-change\" target=\"_blank\">The 10 Rules of Change,<\/a>\u201d  Stan Goldberg wrote that change isn\u2019t easy, but it is possible, and there\u2019s more to it than just saying yes (or no).  He offers ten observations and strategies for implementing change.  They include the following (these are Goldberg\u2019s ideas, as I interpret them):<\/p>\n<p>1. All behaviors are complex.   Therefore, break down the behavior into smaller parts and take baby steps.  If you want to be a better musician, practice your scales, study your theory, practice new pieces, listen carefully to others performing, and a dozen other things.<\/p>\n<p>[More . . . ]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[636,421],"class_list":["post-13089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-psychology-cognition","tag-change","tag-psychology","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dangerousintersection.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dangerousintersection.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dangerousintersection.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dangerousintersection.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dangerousintersection.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dangerousintersection.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13089\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dangerousintersection.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dangerousintersection.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dangerousintersection.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}