How to Be a Catalyst For Change
Recently, I read The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone’s Mind by Jonah Berger.
The book includes examples from different viewpoints, including a marketing perspective, a leader wanting to change an organization, a hostage negotiator, and a non-profit wanting to change the world.
I was delighted to see that there was even a section on getting teens to stop smoking and changing the minds of substance users.
The Catalyst states that creating change is less about pushing people towards change and more about lowering the barriers to change. It is true with struggling teens and young adults. The more we push, nag, and repeat the same information over and over, the more frustrated we become. And your child will be less likely to embrace change.
“Because rather than asking what might convince someone to change, catalysts start with a more basic question: Why hasn’t that person changed already? What is blocking them?” ~ Jonah Berger
Take time to identify what is preventing change. Remove that barrier. Your chances that a transformation will occur will be greater.
When you think about it, a parent of a child struggling with drugs, alcohol, or something else is, in a sense, a marketer. You are marketing the idea of change to your son or daughter.
