Taking a page from the Cognitive Design school

I saw this post today, and I thought it really tied into Loose Change: Rewards Change Kids' Eating Habits

This post discusses a study of parents offering rewards like stickers to kids after eating a vegetable.  After a few weeks, the kids who were generally rewarded were offered the veggie with no reward, and they actually chose to eat the veggie.  So, in essence, providing a reward actually produced the desired change.

If we use rewards to help us or others develop a change, will we be more successful?  My first thought is, "I'm an adult!  I know when I stick to a change and when I don't - and that's good enough for me!"... But is it?  Maybe it's time we start rewarding ourselves (or organizations).

Another interesting point in this article is that the kids received stickers - unrelated to the food.  Does it make sense for us to keep our rewards separate?  For example, if you are trying to change your gym habits and you make it 7 days in a row, maybe you should reward yourself with a massage rather than a day off from the gym.  If you eat your veggies for 7 days in a row, you shouldn't reward yourself with Oreos - choose a movie instead.

I'm going to do some more research on rewards.  I'm really nerding out.

Why is it hard to do things we know we should do?

There are lots of things we should just "do".  Go to the gym.  Not eat late at night.  Stop swearing.  Whatever.  There are lots of things we know we should do, but it's hard.  Someone looking from the outside might not think it's hard.  But it is.  

Change is a strange creature.  Sometimes it's a blast - like moving into a new house.  Sometimes it super sucks - like getting up early to get your butt to the gym.  

But in all cases, change takes motivation, but it also requires courage & optimism.  Two things I usually have, but not today.  Some days in the change journey will be difficult.  Courage and optimism will wax and wane.  But I think it's helpful to identify the days we're weak in that courage and optimism.  You can still be dedicated and motivated toward your change, but that motivation doesn't mean you can do it.  

Think of it this way: to change, I MUST believe in these statements:

1) I believe I can change (courage).

2) I WANT this change (motivation).

3) I believe that this change will improve my life (optimism).

For me today, I'm super struggling with #1 and #3.  I know something needs to change, so I feel motivated to make the change-- #2 done.

I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason.  I believe the change is going to make my life worse for a while, but eventually better.  Today, the glass is not 1/2 empty or 1/2 full; there are 4 oz of water in the glass.  But to really get moving on this change, I need the true emotional commitment.  I think we all do - we need to be emotionally invested in that long-term future state, and look past the pains of the short-term struggle.

And even though I really want this change in my life, I'm not entirely sure I have the strength to do this.  As I said, it's going to be a mess for a while.  It's going to make my life harder first, and eventually easier.  

W. Bridges, Managing Transitions

William Bridges has a framework around transitions.  He says that you have to let go of what's going on now, and that can be really really challenging.  Then, once you finally let go, it takes a while (neutral zone) to re-establish patterns - to figure out how to do things again.  Then finally you set those patterns in the new beginning.

For another model of Bridge's framework, see: http://selfleadership.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/transition1.jpg

So here I am.  I can see that I have to let go, and I simply don't have the courage to do so.  I can't see past the immediate dangers to see the long-term benefits.

This happens all the time in organizations.  We can get people on board with the idea or business case for the change, but then we see them standing on the edge, and they just can't seem to make the leap.

How can we get them to jump?  How can we give them the courage and the optimism?

Just Jump In!

Unconcious Change

Have you ever made a change without thinking about it?  Here's an example (since my brain is focused on changing language).  My parents say "garbage" - as in, "toss the paper in the garbage".  I say "trash" - as in "toss the paper in the trash".  I am sure I said "garbage" as a kid, but now I always say "trash".  I guess it doesn't matter which you say, because they're both grammatically correct and you're getting your point across. 

But I wonder--

When did I make this change, and why!?  If I did it on purpose, perhaps I could have learned from that experience.  I could apply the same principles to switching from "s#!t" to "bah!" (or whatever).

The funny thing about language (at least, your first language) is, you don't really think about it.  Thoughts get translated to words with little effort put into the words themselves.  It's hard to turn that part of the brain on - the part that manages the WORDS.  

This is the way my brain works (I think):

Dropping a bunch of papers onto a wet, dirty floor --> very bad --> express anger --> expletive
...So now I need to find a way to consciously address this unconscious translation.  And it's a huge pain.

This brings me back to mental models.  If you haven't read the literature on mental models, you should.  It's interesting.

But I think I have a mental model in operation here between [very bad --> express anger --> expletive].  That is, I have a deeply rooted thought process that says: the way I express anger quickly, efficiently, and effectively is to utter a single word or phrase.  Everyone will know by this single word or phrase the extent to which I am mad.  Hence, I will have expressed the appropriate amount of anger.  My mental model may not be "correct", but it's the way my brain is processing the world around me.  Seriously - go read about mental models.  Links at the bottom.

So do I just need a new vocabulary?  Will this new vocabulary be as effective at expression?

I'd love to hear examples from you.  Have you changed certain words or phrases on purpose?  How did you approach your change?  Any thoughts on mental models?




Mental Models - GO READ!
http://www.tcd.ie/Psychology/other/Ruth_Byrne/mental_models/
http://www.lauradove.info/reports/mental%20models.htm

Project Change Update... Early.

It's not going well... I'm not sure if I'm cursing more because I'm stressed out, or if I'm just becoming more aware of it.  In any case, I seem to curse a lot.

The Packers are my team.  The Superbowl is going to be a HUGE challenge.  The game this weekend was a big challenge, and I admit I gave up on this change journal pretty quickly.  I had one of those, "F it, it doesn't make any difference and I'm too tense to worry about it!"

The thing is, that was a perfect opportunity to practice.  And instead, I gave up.  My mind is following the path of least resistance, and it was easier to give up.  My cognitive load was too high.

This is going to be a huge pain in the butt.

Project Change

Hi Friends!

I'm going to start a 10 week change project.  It starts NOW.  I'm going to try to adopt a new change, and I'll blog about it each week.  Feel free to join in.  You can pick this challenge, or something else you want to change in your life.  Let me know how it goes. 

Sometime later this year, I'll do another change project.  This one, I'm breaking a habit.  Next time, I'll try to add a habit.  I really need to drink more water.  But, one change at a time.

What change are you doing?

I'm going to try to stop swearing.

Why?  We all swear.  It's not a big deal.

Yeah, but it's really not that good.  I mean, I slip up in places I shouldn't.  It's not like I swear all the time, but ya know, why do it at all?  I don't like it when my mother hears me say "sh!t".  And I'll never forget the time I gave my brother a lecture about swearing and then, 2 minutes later, hitting my head and yelling "F#*%!!!!"  So - I'm done.  I'm going to break the habit. 

How will you know if you're successful?

I struggle with this.  I'm going to be very reflective about my swearing.  I'm going to try to be objective, and count.

What counts as swearing?  

This is tricky!  I'm going by the Catholic test.  For those who don't know, I'm the product of 13 years of Catholic education (does that explain a lot?).  If I would have gotten yelled at in school for it, it counts as swearing.  This includes, "Mother of God" and "Good Lord" (when not used "with good purpose", as my mother says).

So friends - watch me turn from a GD caterpillar to a F'ing butterfly (sorry- had to get it out!).  10 Weeks.  1 Change.  Lots and lots of telling you all what it's like.

If you want to join me in this change, or pick one of your own, please feel free to let me know in the comments!


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Learn. Learning. Learned.

What does it mean to "learn"?  How do you know if you've "learned" something?  And just because you've "learned" something, can you do it?

Here's the thing: When I watch TV, I always opt for History, National Geographic, Discovery, or Science channel - because I'm a real nerd like that.  And when my boyfriend asks what I'm doing, I'll say I'm learning.  Because when I watch these shows, I'm learning about volcanoes or synesthesia or butterflies or whatever.  But just because I've watched a really interesting program, I am not now a geologist, psychologist, or botanist.  I can't do anything with that new knowledge except win trivia challenges.

...So have I really not learned anything?  

When I take a class and learn a new skill that is useful and applicable, I have no trouble saying "I learned this skill".  I can also look back on times in my life (hello! first job!) and say, "I learned a lot".  But if you said, what did you learn and how did you learn it?  I'm a little stuck.  Think about your own experiences.  At what point can you really, truly say "I learned X."?

I really grapple with this word, "learn".  I hate it because it's ambiguous and vague.  It doesn't tell the whole story.

So I ask you, readers, if there are any of you out there: what does it mean?  How do you KNOW if you have learned something?  What does it mean to learn something?

Aloha! What's going on here?

Hi Friends!  Welcome to my blog.  I am your host, Lauren Bertschy.  :)
I'd like to spend a moment (ok, several moments) introducing myself and this blog and why you should read it!

Who am I? 
Here are some adjectives that describe me: enthusiastic, curious, excitable, bold, cheerful, inquisitive.  I'm the kind of person who wears their heart on their sleeve.  I love learning and exploring.  I have a (not-so)secret love affair with the Science Channel.  I loooove National Geographic in all its forms.  My favorite podcast is "Stuff You Should Know".  My favorite website is catalogliving.net. 

I live in Chicago with my boyfriend, Nick.  We met in college.  I wouldn't have passed my classes without him.  We were best friends, then we graduated... and we've been dating since.  We have a calico cat, named Kiwi, who I adore.

I'm currently a graduate student at Northwestern, studying Learning & Organizational Change.  What does that mean?  Well, so much.  You can visit the MSLOC website to get more information.  But here are some of the classes I'm taking, that are pretty representative of my experiences: Leading with Strategic Thinking, Creating and Sharing Knowledge, Designing Sustainable Strategic Change, and Leadership in Organizations.  And that leads me to my next question...

Why am I writing this blog?
... My experiences have made me start to see the world differently - which is good and bad.  Bad, because it can be super annoying to ALWAYS be wondering about new stuff (it's exhausting!); and good, because it creates new opportunities to think about the world around me.  It's a new year - today is Jan 12, 2011.  I'm ready to start a new chapter - and for me, that means being more disciplined about all these thoughts running rampant through my brain.  I need a way to talk about all these things without annoying the people around me!  So maybe when you read this you'll start to see the world differently.  Or maybe I'll ask you a question that will change your perspectives.  And that leads me to my next question...

What can you expect from this blog?
...You can expect a lot of "thinking" questions.  Probably a little silliness and ridiculous things too.  But most of the time, I plan to write about how we experience change, learning, and knowledge sharing every day.  What can we learn from thinking about these things more critically?  How can we use it in the workplace and our personal lives?  Are there some interesting articles or things we should read to better understand what's going on? 

I will probably ask you questions, in the hopes that you will help me continue to see the world differently. 

And I'll probably write about once a week.  That's my goal, anyway.

And I PROMISE to be honest and open.