The rider, the elephant, and the path

The other day in Mortgage Mindset Daily call we talked about an idea from Chip and Dan Heath’s book Switch.

They describe change using a simple analogy.

Your mind has three parts.

The Rider.

The Elephant.

And the Path.

The rider is your intellect.

It’s the part that says:

“I should go to the gym.”

“I should make more prospecting calls.”

“I should eat healthier.”

The elephant is your emotions.

And elephants are powerful.

If the elephant doesn’t want to move… the rider isn’t going anywhere.

Then there’s the path.

That’s your environment.

The systems and surroundings that either make things easier or harder.

The authors argue that real change happens when you do three things:

Direct the rider.

Make the next action obvious and simple.

Motivate the elephant.

Make the action attractive.

Shape the path.

Change the environment so the right behavior becomes easier.

A simple example.

If you want to drink more water, put a water bottle on your desk.

If you want to eat less junk food, don’t keep it in the house.

Small changes to the environment can quietly influence behavior.

And the same thing happens in business.

Sometimes the problem isn’t discipline.

Sometimes the path just isn’t shaped very well.

Food for thought.