Title: Psychologist and Author Explains How Providing Multiple Options Can Facilitate Positive Behavior Change
On her podcast Pulling The Thread, Elise Loehnen talks with Carrie Wilkens, a psychologist and author of “Beyond Addiction: How Science and Kindness Help People Change,” on what gets people to actually alter their behavior.
One way to facilitate change is to give yourself multiple avenues that will lead you to accomplishing your goal.
“Menu of options is always helpful,” Wilkens tells Loehnen.
Many families and friends, all with good intention, tend to only present one option when encouraging a person to quit a certain substance.
If you want your friend to stop drinking, you might suggest Alcoholics Anonymous — and be disappointed if they quit going. But AA is not the only tool that helps people stop drinking.
Instead of making them feel like a failure for not connecting with a specific program, present them with other ways in which they could reach the same goal.
“Constantly be thinking, like, ‘Am I jamming my loved one in the corner or am I giving them multiple doors to walk through?,'” Wilkens says. “Most people will always appreciate the multiple door option.”
This strategy can be helpful when you’re trying to keep your own resolutions.
Let’s say your goal is to exercise more. Pressuring yourself into going to the gym five days a week is setting yourself up for failure.
Instead, give yourself options.
There are plenty of ways to stay active, like hiking or biking or joining a walking group, that don’t involve going to the gym. You’re more likely to exercise if you are exploring multiple options, as opposed to restricting yourself to just one.
If your goal is to save money and you know you spend a lot at restaurants, going out to eat might seem like a good expense to cut. But if it’s an activity you truly enjoy, it’s unlikely that you’ll stop doing it altogether when the clock strikes midnight.
Create some other options, like cutting your budget for dining out by 30% or picking up a side hustle and putting those profits in a savings account, that will help you save money.
The more alternatives you give yourself, the more likely you are to keep your resolutions this year.