Why Change is so hard?
As coaches us kind of serve as change agents to our clients. And even if people come to coaching with the purpose to change, change is often perceived as thread and come along with fear and uncertainty. Our brains itself are wonderful change protectors. They are built to detect any changes in the environment very quickly and effectively and send out strong signals that alert us in case of change detection. This means, always when we try to change or to leave our routines, our brain sends out strong alert messages, that something is wrong. And as these error detection signals are send out by a part of the brain (the orbital cortex), that is closely connected to the brain’s fear circuitry (in the Amygdala), these messages bring along fear and uncertainty.
A concept which is worth to consider in this context is the Thread and Reward response, a neurological mechanism that governs much of our behavior. In all cases where we encounter something unexpected our emotional center, the limbic system, a relatively primitive part of the brain, gets aroused and starts to fire and pushes us to act emotionally and more impulsively.
In plain language this means, that these messages direct our reactions away from our ratio and consciousness and pushes us back in our auto piloted & routined ways without changing anything. Some authors refer to the thread and reward response as a response that intents to minimize danger and to maximize reward and even call it the fundamental organizing principle of the brain: Depending on our perception of potential danger or reward our response is created. In case of danger it becomes a thread response of avoidance, also known as a fight or flight response. In case of reward it becomes a response of trial and effort.
That explains why change in terms of learning can be so hard, as the brain itself naturally tries to resists change and to retain equilibrium, a homeostatic state of balance.
Another concept of interest in these field is based on findings on our working memory, its capacity and its energy consume. Due to neuroscience we nowadays know, that the heart of our conscious mind, the working memory (located in the prefrontal context) and needed for learning, needs much more energy than our unconsciousness, automated system (the basal ganglia) and has only a very limited captivity. This means the working memory fatigues easily and is only able to hold a limited number of ideas at once. And it explains why in all cases where we have learned something new, may it be reading, writing or driving a car, the new skill will be taken over by deeper structures of the brain, our so called automatic pilots- parts that as soon as a new skill gets more and more often repeated take over in order to free working memory and energies for new ideas to work through.
So after a certain time-frame and a certain amount of repetitions we start putting a newly learned skill into practice without even thinking about it. From a neuroplastic perspective this means that we’ve developed new circuits controlled deeply in the brain with information that can automatically be transmitted in certain situations.
Considering this, much of what currently we do without even thinking about it is well and truly hard wired!
And considering this, it will always need a certain amount of time & a certain amount of repetitions (= experience) to really anchor new perspectives, thoughts, reactions or behaviors.
Implications for the coaching practice
If we have a look on these findings from a coaching practice point of view the good news are, that we are able to change. Something most of us have already experienced and something that has been proofed by various studies on neuroplasticity. But the bad news are that change takes a lot more energy than many people are willing to put into it. Just consider what you would do, finding yourself on a junction where you need to choose either to take a free and easy to ride highway or a small and stony dumpy road! Our brain usually does choose the easiest and most energy saving way. An effect, that gets even more dominant as soon as we feel stressed, tired or threaded. And a finding that clearly explains why falling back into old thoughts, routines and habits is quite human and natural, quasi “a must”.
And an finding, that shows that it is of utmost importance that our coachees come to a conscious decision to change whatever they want to change before sustainable change can happen as it needs a significant effort of will to leave automated routines, thoughts or habits behind. Or to speak in metaphors to choose the stony, dumpy road instead of the well-known highway.
For the coaching practice that leads us to some concrete implications as these findings clearly indicate that we as coaches need to support our clients
1) in coming to a conscious choice to change whatever they want to change. And it must be there choice, not ours, their partner’s, parent’s or anybody elses one.
2) in developing a picture and perception of the potential reward they will earn as soon as they’ve reached this goal
3) to keep alive & motivate their will-power to change
4) to make them practice: thoughts, behaviors, new routines, whatever they have chosen
5) to share our knowledge with them in order to strengthen their psychological resilience
Why Change is yet Manageable!
The findings above clearly explain why change can be so hard, as the brain itself naturally seems to resists change to retain equilibrium. So why is change yet manageable and what needs to be given to truly change?
The ability to develop new perspectives, routines or habits calls for developing new brain circuits: A difficult and energy-drawing travel as „driving“ on existing and automated circuits and mental maps is much easier than developing new ones or even replacing the old ones. So what must be given to effect change and let new circuits being established?
The power of conscious decision & attention
Clients facing change first need to come to the conscious decision to change before sustainable change can happen. This is tightly connected to the role that ongoing attention plays for facilitating change.
Generally we can channel the energy and information flowing by the mind by the process of attention. Three mechanisms of attention can be distinguished: exogenous, endogenous and executive attention. While exogenous attention is usually forced by an external stimulus, e.g. a loud sound and is a more a distractive or alerting form of attention, endogenous attention itself generated. That means in all cases when an individual chooses to focus attention on a particular stimulus we speak about endogenous attention. Studies on neuroplasticity showed that focused attention creates physical changes in the brain.
Finally it is the focus of attention that enables us to leave old routines and to create new firing patterns and new synaptic connections. Where we focus our attention on we create connections. And that happens much faster than commonly believed as studies with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (DOC) Patients proofed: In only two weeks significant changes in the brain could be seen, in case these people were able leaving the problem where it was and focusing on creating new habits replacing the old ones. As soon as clients haven’t been able to focus on the solution instead of the problem these findings couldn’t be repeated.
A statement that nicely explains the linkage between the consciousness and attention is:
Consciousness may play a direct role in harnessing neuroplasticity by altering previously automatic modes of neural firing and enabling new patterns of neural activation to occur the basic steps linking consciousness with neural plasticity are as follows. Where Attention goes, neural firing occurs. And where neurons fire connections can be made
(Siegel, D.J. Mindfulness, Psychotherapy and the Brain).
And as bigger the attention density is as greater will be the neural effect in building new circuits and connections.
Implications for Coaching Practice
These findings implicate why it is important to help our client
6) to reflect on ideas and options to solve a dilemma instead of focusing on the dilemma
7) to consciously choose one of them
8) to support him breaking it down into concrete steps and actions and to follow them helping them to stay focused as all of these elements will increase the attention density the client puts on his solution.
In other words:
To make coaching effective and help our clients to change we need to support them in paying attention to the change they want to see in their lives and to focus on solutions and to give the brain something to works towards to. If we are focusing on solutions we create them, but if we focus on problems, we become them.
The power of insight & its implications for coaching
Everybody who already has had an insight in coaching knows about its energizing and activating effects. From a neuroplastic point of view having an insight is the creation of complex new circuits all at once. In regards to how hard it can be to build up new circuits, the concept of Insight should not be underestimated in coaching.
How can we help our clients to come to an insight?
While the insight itself seems to be chaotic, spontaneous and unpredictable, we as coaches can support it and bring it up more easily with certain techniques and strategies.
There are two phases that we usually touch within coaching, before we have an insight. The client becomes aware of a dilemma and he reflects on options for solutions. From a neuroscientist approach having a dilemma means having various mental maps and its respective values in conflict. And the brain has not yet worked out how to balance this.
In order to resolve these conflicts we need to bring our clients to reflection. Studies have shown that during reflection we usually leave our logical and analytic parts and start engaging parts of our brain that are used for making links within the whole brain.
Insight itself brings a rush of energy. In the moment of insight itself various transmitters like Adrenalin, serotonin and dopamine are released and the brain produces gamma waves. Waves that are usually seen when the brain simultaneously processes information across different regions. Various parts of the brain are thereby forming a new meta map that links many parts of the brain together and brings them into balance.
As soon as people have had an insight their faces change and they are ready to take action, a motivation that unfortunately passes by faster that we can imagine. Studies show that the average of us has already forgotten this insight only an hour later.
A finding that indicates, that we need to guide our clients to define tangible actions immediately after an insight occurs to make this insight tangible and concrete. In order to help our clients to have an insight and to profit from it, we therefore need to help our clients to stop thinking on their routine ways, to quiet the mind, and to simplify issues so that they can be placed in new contexts and be seen from new perspectives. So it might help our clients to leave the more logical parts, to reflect more, to think less and to make it concrete as soon as the insight occurs.