Switch is a book about changing your behavior, by understanding the impediments to change in any circumstance. The authors divide the book into three parts: the rider, the elephant, and the path.
Imagine that the conscious and rational part of your psyche is the rider, while the unconscious and emotional part of your is the elephant. And that the rider sits on top of the elephant, embarking on a path to somewhere. To know how to change your behavior, you need to know which components you can change.
Here is how you can make changes to each of these components.
The Rider, The Elephant, and The Path
The rider is tiny compared to elephant, which suggests that if ever the two were to fight each other, there would be no question about the identity of the victor. If you have promised yourself to eat healthier, but your friend some Cheetos, your emotional brain will eventually win the fight. There is an infinite number of justifications that you will come up with, such as the fact that you have been eating healthy lately, and have been working out at the gym.
The emotional brain, or the elephant, is obsessed with enjoying the present, while the rational brain, or the rider, is focused on the future. There is a constant battle that is taking place between the two, but the authors suggest that there is a way to win the fight, if you identify your self with the rational rider. All you need to do is use some tricks, based on what you know about your own psychology.
For example, when you want to make a big change in your life, such as eating healthier, you will find that the elephant rebelling. So you need to make the change small, so that you are less intimidated. You should also motivate yourself emotionally, either through anger or excitement or any other emotion, so that the elephant can be triggered to take action. The final thing to do is to make yourself emotionally comfortable with failure. That is, to have a growth mindset rather than a fixed mindset.
But before hacking your emotional brain, or the elephant, you need to get the rider sorted first. The first thing you need to do is to point towards a destination, imagine a future worth working for. Second, find the bright spots. Look for what’s already working, rather than focusing on what’s not working. Replicate what works. The mind has a tendency to dwell on shortcomings, and this inevitably brings forth analysis paralysis. Finally, create a script. It’s not enough to know which direction you want to move towards, you need to outline the specific moves you need to make to get there. These are also known as SMART goals (Smart Measurable Achievable Realistic Timely).
The path, or the environment is the last component you want to change. Build an environment that complements the habits you want to build. Once these habits have been established, they become your behavioral autopilot and take less energy with time.
If you’re an entrepreneur and you want a quick guide to know what to think about before launching you business, check out The Myth of Entrepreneurship.