Identifying and Addressing 5 Myths Associated With Change  

Heraclitus, the pre-Socratic Greek philosopher, said “Change is the only constant in life,” highlighting the need for all of us to constantly plan for and be ready for change in every aspect of our lives, to be proactive. Change is inevitable, and we must adapt regularly to ensure we not only remain relevant but also thrive. Five myths are associated with change.

MYTH #1: People hate change
Do people really hate change? No. People hate fake change. People dislike change that isn’t real. They’re fed up with talk of change that doesn’t ever really happen. They’re tired of change that goes nowhere. People don’t mind working hard, but they want to see results. When people put in effort to make change and nothing actually happens, they become frustrated, and the perception is that they hate change, perhaps, it’s the alleged change. Additionally, people may be more fearful than they are hateful when it comes to change. They may fear what the change means to their daily lives. Will they be able to do their job in the new way expected? Do they have the skills, tools, and knowledge to change the way they are currently behaving? People may also resent change in the sense that they may believe that changing the way they currently do something suggests that their hard work isn’t good enough and is not appreciated. Essentially, the perceptions associated with change cause negative reactions: fake change and fear of inadequacy, inability, and confusion.

MYTH #2: Education will change behavior
Education is necessary to effect change, but education is not enough. It’s been proven time and again that information and education alone will not entirely change behavior or influence people’s opinions. In her 2013 TEDxCSU presentation, Jeni Cross shared from her research that only twenty percent of people will respond or take action based on information. She goes further to suggest that how information is presented is what will determine the success of intended change. Information needs to be tangible, personalized, and interactive to be effective (Cross, 2013). Cross (2013) indicated that providing information in this manner will increase the likelihood of action or change from twenty percent to sixty percent. Information can change behavior with three components in place: tangibility, personalization, and interaction.

MYTH #3: You need to change attitudes to change behavior
Attitudes follow behavior. If we can successfully connect intended change with people’s values and lay out expectations for them, their attitudes will align with their behavior (Cross, 2013). Think about this from the standpoint of sales. If you try to sell a product or service to someone who doesn’t value the product or service, you likely won’t be successful. If, however, you’re able to connect the product or service to the customer’s values, you’ll increase your likelihood of success. Emotional appeal is another way to affect attitudes. Emotional responses or behaviors can induce attitude changes. Take, for example, this video ad from Burger King. Basically, the burger chain was successful in appealing to people’s emotions on the topic of bullying to not only raise awareness (educate, per Myth #2) but also to make people reflect on their behavior and the behavior of others, thus improving attitudes relative to bullying awareness and prevention. This is what leads to change!

MYTH #4: People know what motivates them to take action
This myth also comes from Jeni Cross (2013). The truth is that people believe they know what motivates them to act, but in reality, more often they are motivated more by factors or circumstances they’ve not even identified as influential. The example Cross uses is a good one: people believe they’re motivated to reuse bath towels in a hotel because of they value the environment, when in reality, they’re more likely to reuse bath towels when they see signage indicating that 75% of people reuse their towels. This supports the notion that social norms influence people significantly. When we see others perform a particular behavior or action, we’re likely to mimic or repeat that behavior. While one may think that common sense or logic would dictate behavior, social norms are actually more influential. People follow people. It’s human nature or social norming. Check out the book Nudge by University of Chicago economist Richard H. Thaler for more on social norming and prompting desired behavior.

MYTH #5: Change is hard
The truth is that change is what we make it. It’s our attitude toward, our choices around, and our determination to make change that define just how challenging or how easy change will be. We have more control over most situations than we realize. Fear of change and of the potential outcomes can be detrimental. Pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones to make positive change will ultimately produce positive outcomes, whether the outcomes are exactly what we were seeking or a lesson learned that will propel us toward the change we’re seeking.  At the same time, change can’t be too uncomfortable, or we’ll likely not continue to make the effort toward change. Taking small steps toward change can make for the most effective change.

Being aware of these myths and working to address them is one secret to achieving effective change. Understand that people don’t hate change; look at the fashion industry, it changes constantly. People respond positively to that. People dislike fake change. They desire real change if they’re going to put forth the effort. Education has to be approached in a tangible, personalized, and interactive manner to be effective. Change must be connected to people’s values and also outline behavioral expectations. People are driven by social norms rather than by what they think motivates them. Change doesn’t have to be hard. Ultimately, for change to occur it must be meaningful and compelling. Communication is key in addressing and overcoming all of these myths to ensure effective, successful change occurs.