Inhibitors to Change: Part 3

Today we finish our 3-part series discussing and evaluating the 15 inhibitors to change presented in Marshall Goldsmith's "Triggers". These triggers impede your delivery and effectiveness inside and outside of work. Being aware of your triggers and wisely combatting them will accelerate your ability for positive change for the rest of your life! To read the full list along with my personal comments for each, visit Part 1 and 2 from this series.

11. "My elimination of old problems will not bring on new problems."

Oftentimes we imagine a state of perfection once we solve certain problems or pass certain milestones. We incessantly chase this "greener grass", always discontent and never appreciative of the current state. Along the way, we miss a lot of the sweet and vivid moments in our current environment. This does not mean we should become complacent and stop striving to improve ourselves, battling poor behaviors and developing new habits. On the contrary, we should always be striving to be better, staying in a continual state of learning. However, we would be remiss if we did not wisely recognize that nothing is this world is absolutely perfect - with every new milestone will come new and different challenges. Once we get that next job or promotion, some of the old problems from the last position will certainly disappear, but certainly new issues will also arise. Once we find the person we want to spend our lives with, some of the old challenges we faced in singleness will no longer plague us. However, various other challenges of marriage will surface, constantly keeping us on our toes. In addition, some challenges we face will never fully go away. Each of us has our own personal set of strengths and weaknesses. We can minimize these weaknesses and maximize our strengths, but in some cases we may not be able to fully eliminate those weaknesses. Thinking that solving current problems will lead to a blissfully perfect state is naive and will leave you very disappointed and unprepared for the next set of challenges. Plan ahead and rise above.

12. "My efforts will be fairly rewarded."

Fairness. This world can be cruelly unfair. A lot. For me personally, I struggle greatly with this one. Unfair situations, recognition, or rewards make me incredibly frustrated and unendingly resentful. I do not fully agree with Goldsmith's explanation for this behavioral trigger - He notes that our motivators for change should be separate from the reward, or else we are a "phony". He says that without the reward, we lose all motivation. Since the reward is not guaranteed, we shouldn't chase after that as a motivation for our change. I disagree with this approach. I'm a relentlessly competitive person. I thrive on motivation through reward, as I believe most humans innately do, even if they aren't as competitive as I am. There must usually be some form of a reward if we are to work for something, right? The reward can take different forms based on the situation (ie not always money), but there must always be something! Would we work a job for no compensation? Would we spend 4 long years in university slaving away in classes and exams with no hope of a life long career after? Would we spend 3 weeks in a training class that didn't improve our skills or chances of getting a raise? Would a thriving business normally offer services for absolutely no compensation? Absolutely not. Equitable and fair return is not always guaranteed in this world, and there will be certain unique situations where we can accept this, but on the whole we shouldn't stay in jobs where we are being under-paid and under-recognized habitually. Now, I will say that before initiating major change in your life, make sure that you don't have unrealistic expectations about what you will receive because of it. Search yourself and your motives. Understand all potential outcomes and the probabilities of each. Be prepared mentally for those outcomes, then adjust as needed once you perceive which is reality.

13. "No one is paying attention to me."

Oftentimes behavioral change comes in minute waves that can be

unnoticeable to others. If you are working to lose weight, you may lose 1-2 pounds per week. Initially, you will be putting in seemingly enormous amounts of effort (to you)- exercising daily, eating differently, practicing self-control almost every hour of the day. However, very few if any people will notice 1-2 pounds, even 5-6 pounds. If you are hanging your hat on accolades and notice from others, you may become discouraged very quickly and quit. However, if you keep your focus on the end goal and internally celebrate the small victories along the way, you can eventually lose the 40 or 50 pounds you had set as your goal. THEN, people will surely notice. Another thing to keep in mind is that people often are so concerned and busy with their own lives, that they may actually forget where you came from. Your boss may not remember how much you've improved in your ability to prioritize or keep a cool head in tough situations. In this case, it helps to keep records of your improvement - where you've been versus where you are now. Hard data never lies. Force them to pay attention!

14. "If I change I am "inauthentic".

Can someone please tell me why positive change could possibly be inauthentic? I must admit, this ones seems like a very silly excuse to me. Resistance to change is not-so-cleverly disguised under authenticity - a word people "can't" challenge. If you are using this excuse, please recognize you are being endlessly silly and stubborn. Positive change in your life is never inauthentic. If you let your past habits dictate who you are today, you will never amount to anything better.

15. "I have the wisdom to assess my own behavior."

Which camp do you fall into - Are you overly optimistic about your abilities and performance, thinking you are always in the top 10%? Or are you overly pessimistic, thinking you are always in the bottom 10%? I do believe there is enormous power in "thinking big" - confidence can dictate performance and perception. Thus, I'd say being overly optimistic is better than being overly pessimistic. However, you should always perform a gut check with data. If you are trying to save for retirement, you should track your monthly and yearly savings over time to ensure you are actually reaching your goals. If you are attempting to improve your perception as a team lead, perhaps request feedback from your staff through an anonymous survey, set to happen quarterly or annually. Have a look in the mirror and be brutally honest about your performance and change. This can highlight potential blind spots that you hadn't seen before or can highlight that you haven't made quite the progress you had expected, in which case you reassess and keep going!

© 2017 by The Process Maven