A
new name for our paper to be published every two weeks, a new format, a new
emphasis for our increasingly sophisticated coastal readers—change. As in any
change, there will be those that will welcome the new look, they are the
adventurers, those who are willing to give up the familiar and plunge into the
unknown. Change entails risk, as with anything new, there are probabilities,
possibilities, and unanticipated consequences. Of course, in this case, there
will be no risks for the reader, only for the publisher. Then there are those
who will be upset, write to the editors, complain that the paper was fine
before, why make if different and now unfamiliar: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix
it.” These are the risk averse people, who cling to tradition, to the security
of the familiar, of the known.
We
need both people, those who will seek to improve the status quo, the
innovators, the creators, the inventors, the risk takers. These people need to
be confident that they will be resilient enough to weather any possible
negative fallout.
We
also need the risk-averse people, those who will caution against undue
experimentation and who will help in making more carefully thought-out
decisions whether personal, economic, or political.
Some
planned changes are made regularly, like the New Year’s resolutions we all make
in January, you know the one: “eat less, move more.” In other words, make
intelligent food choices (I plan to practice portion control by using smaller
plates) and commit to an exercise routine that includes strength training,
aerobics, and flexibility (I plan to be 30 minutes on the tread mill five days
a week).
The
only risk of not following through is the resultant guiltly feelings and poorer
health.
The
Hawthorne Effect could be an additional motivation. What is the Hawthorne
Effect? In 1924–32, a group of Harvard researchers studying the relationship
between productivity and work environment at the Hawthorne Works of the Western
Electric Company in Cicero, Illinois made a discovery consequently known as the
Hawthorne Effect.
What
they found was that workers improved their productivity no matter how the
environment was manipulated—they did better whether their environment was made
brighter or dimmer, as long as they were the subject of a study. In other
words, individuals improved their performance due to the attention they
received from the researchers, making them feel important, and not from changes
to the experimental variables. Even when workers were falsely told that the
lights would be brighter (they were unchanged) they improved their performance.
How
can you use this effect to reach your self-improvement goals? I suggest having
a witness when trying out new behaviors—whether an exercise partner who knows
your new fitness goals or someone to eat with who knows you are avoiding
sweets. In other words, we need the Hawthorne Effect to stay true to our New
Year’s resolution, we need to be observed
doing it right. This is why the weekly weigh-ins at places like Weight Watchers
work—there is an observer who monitors, and there are other participants who
witness and share. Improving alone is hard, get a friend to help you with your
goals.
Change,
according to the dictionary, means to transform, to modify, to become different.
Change also means flexibility, to reverse a previously held opinion or an
earlier decision. The way we react to change is also a personality factor;
political stances reflect our propensity to tradition and routine or to
innovation and risk. Change, whether by intent or by accident is an inevitable
part of our lives. We should be ready to accept change and be aware of our
habitual reactions to it. We have control over whether we will fight it or
welcome it and with the new year upon us, it is our opportunity to do something
differently, to do something better than it was.
So,
whether it be a new face lift for our community newspaper or changes in your
own business or life, commit to the new you, that healthier, more fit you, the
one who has given up on bad habits and who finally will learn Spanish or the
piano or enroll in that class or walk on the beach or volunteer for a worthy
cause or clean out that closet or…. Write your own plan and share it with
someone.
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