Belief Triggers That Stop Behavioral Change in its Tracks

Co-authored by Marla Skibbins and Lauren Puff.

Many of us know that we have voices or stories that we tell ourselves that hold us back from doing things or sometimes those voices can talk us into taking action! Oftentimes, these stories or voices are the result of an external trigger. Triggers are things in your environment influencing you and not exclusively negative things. Something in your environment can trigger a very happy emotion in you while others can trigger frustration or anger.

Marshall Goldsmith, in his excellent leadership development book Triggers: Creating Behavior That Lasts - Becoming the Person You Want to Be, identifies fifteen inner beliefs that, in his words, “sabotage lasting change by canceling its possibility”. He writes that we “employ these beliefs as articles of faith to justify our inaction and then wish away the result”. These fifteen destructive perspectives are:

1. IF I UNDERSTAND, I WILL DO

“Just because people understand what to do doesn’t ensure that they will actually do it. This belief triggers confusion.”

2. I HAVE WILLPOWER AND WON’T GIVE IN TO TEMPTATION

“Few of us foresee the challenges we will face. As a result, the willpower we assume when we set a goal rarely measures up to the willpower we display in achieving that goal. Something always comes up to sink our boat. This belief triggers overconfidence“.

3. TODAY IS A SPECIAL DAY

“If we truly want to change we have to make peace with the fact that we cannot self-exempt every time the calendar offers us a more attractive alternative to our usual day. We’ve triggered a self-indulgent inconsistency“.

4. “AT LEAST I’M BETTER THAN…”

“In a moment of after failure or loss, we tell ourselves, “At least I’m better than_____.” We award ourselves a free pass because we’re not the worst in the world. This is our excuse to take it easy. We’ve triggered a false sense of immunity“.

5. I SHOULDN’T NEED HELP AND STRUCTURE

“One of our most dysfunctional beliefs is our contempt for simplicity and structure. We believe that we are above needing structure to help us on seemingly simple tasks…This is a natural response that combines three competing impulses: 1) our contempt for simplicity (only complexity is worthy of our attention); 2) our contempt for instruction and follow-up; and 3) our faith, however unfounded, that we can succeed all by ourselves“.

6. I WON’T GET TIRED AND MY ENTHUSIASM WILL NOT FADE

“When we plan to achieve our goals, we believe that our energy will not flag and that we will never lose our enthusiasm for the process of change…The sheer effort of sticking with the plan triggers depletion“.

7. I HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD

“We chronically underestimate the time it takes to get anything done…This faith in time’s infinite patience triggers procrastination“.

8. I WON’T GET DISTRACTED AND NOTHING UNEXPECTED WILL OCCUR

“We get down to work without accommodating the fact that life always intrudes to alter out priorities and test our focus…This belief triggers unrealistic expectations“.

9. AN EPIPHANY WILL SUDDENLY CHANGE MY LIFE

“An epiphany implies that change can arise out of a sudden burst of insight and willpower…But more often than not, an epiphany experience triggers magical thinking“.

10. “MY CHANGE WILL BE PERMANENT AND I WILL NEVER HAVE TO WORRY AGAIN

“We set a goal and mistakenly believe that in achieving that goal we will be happy – and that we will never regress. This belief triggers a false sense of permanence“.

11. MY ELIMINATION OF OLD PROBLEMS WILL NOT BRING ON NEW PROBLEMS

“We forget that as we usher an old problem out the door a new problem usually enters…This belief triggers a fundamental misunderstanding of our future challenges“.

12. MY EFFORTS WILL BE FAIRLY REWARDED

“When we are not properly rewarded we feel cheated. Our dashed expectations trigger resentment“.

13. NO ONE IS PAYING ATTENTION TO ME

“We believe that we can occasionally lapse back into bad behavior because people aren’t paying close attention. We are practically invisible, triggering a dangerous preference for isolation“.

14. IF I CHANGE I AM “INAUTHENTIC”

“We refuse to adapt our behavior to new situations because “it isn’t me”. This belief triggers stubbornness“.

15. I HAVE THE WISDOM TO ASSESS MY OWN BEHAVIOR

We believe that “while other people consistently overrate themselves, our own self-assessment is fair and accurate. This belief triggers an impaired sense of objectivity“.

We would become far more effective planners, leaders, and humans if we better understood Goldsmith’s fifteen inner beliefs that trigger failure and then took corrective actions. Which of the above apply to you?