CHANGE

Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D.Motivational psychologist and author, 'Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals'
Explained: Why We Don't Like Change


Thinking about trying to shake things up at work? Brimming with new ideas and strategies? Hoping to get your organization to try a new way of doing things, or maybe just get your family to alter their holiday traditions a bit? Good for you. But if you are going to be an advocate for change, it might help you to start by understanding what you are up against, psychologically speaking.

It's not just that people fear change, though they undoubtedly do. It's also that they genuinely believe (often on an unconscious level) that when you've been doing something a particular way for some time, it must be a good way to do things. And the longer you've been doing it that way, the better it is.

So change isn't simply about embracing something unknown -- it's about giving up something old (and therefore good) for something new (and therefore not good).

The bottom line is, unconsciously we all believe that longevity = goodness. There are, admittedly, plenty of instances where this is perfectly rational. When a particular product or way of doing things has stood the test of time, it is probably superior to alternatives in at least some respects.

The problem is that longevity and tradition aren't always accurate predictors of goodness -- inertia, habit, marketing prowess, market monopoly and fear of change can all be the real reasons why we haven't tried something new. Also, there are areas of life that really should be unaffected by this sort of bias -- in domains like art or cuisine, how long something has been around should have little to do with how aesthetically pleasing or delicious you find it.
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