The End of the World: Canceled!

ENVISIONING CONTINUITY RATHER THAN CHANGE

1. ENVISIONING PRESERVATION

Researchers at the University of Amsterdam have recently uncovered a paradox: to get people to change, one should emphasize what all is preserved by virtue of the change, helping them envision continuity rather than the change itself. As cognitive slackers, we rarely will abandon established behavioral strategies. It’s down to biology, as self-preservation is a drive ingrained in each individual cell. Rethinking things uses up too much energy. When your boss or a climate activist, for example, is demanding moving to a new digital or ecological paradigm, we tend to resist – because cognitively such change is stressful. We feel differently about it however if that person highlights that as a result we can keep the same job until retirement, or will still get to enjoy walks in the forest. Thus building continuity into the vision is key.

POSITIVE THINKING INSTEAD OF DOOM AND GLOOM

2. ANTI-APOCALYPTIC MESSAGING

We need to stop all the apocalyptic talk, which only makes it harder to realize visions. A writer in the magazine The Economist put it this way (in sober British fashion): climate change is not the end of the world, and mankind is not facing extinction – certainly not the planet. Using dramatic superlatives leads to an attitude of resignation. A more productive way of formulating things would be “while climate change is not the end of the world, it could mean that we lose everything that makes life on earth pleasant for us.”

The above sentence won’t fit on a banner as a succinct slogan, but it is a better way of putting the argument – it works. It creates possibilities for action. Take these unmotivating examples of how not to communicate: “Digitalization will be the death of this company.” “I didn’t go jogging today, I’m sure I’ll die of obesity.” And now try these statements on instead: “Without digitalization, my work would be much more monotonous.” “If I don’t go jogging, I tend to get grumpy”. Putting it that way works.According to philosopher Patricia Viera, we should avoid ‘colonizing the future’ by defining a fixed image of it that aligns with contemporary interests. The end of the world – let's cancel it. For ending takes away any possibility for change.

WE WANT MORE OF THE GOOD STUFF

3. EXCITED OPTIMISM

Those who work in healthcare realize that people don’t get motivated about issues when it’s only about avoiding something bad happening. We want more of the good stuff – the rest we tune out. Preventive healthcare? Boring. In psychology, a distinction is recognized between ‘avoidance’ and ‘approach-oriented’ goals. Avoidance goals are non-motivating. But when we think about change, we unavoidably think about attendant risks of an abstract nature.

What if instead of approach-oriented goals, we talk about about real, positive needs? If we manage to halt climate change, we will still be able to enjoy an outing in the Harz mountains with our grandchildren. And when I go jogging, I sleep better and have good dreams. The company Beyond Meat gets it. That’s why instead of having their burgers stocked in the vegetarian section, they present their products in the meat section. Nobody wants to take a bite of self-denial; what everybody wants when deciding for something different, for change, is for there to be joy in the decision. Rather than something intimidating, let’s think about transformation as something to get excited about!

CHANGE IS NOT REALLY THE PROBLEM

4. RADICAL CLARITY

Interesting fact: the country India gained its independence as a nation, inaugurating the end of the British Empire, through what was originally a protest against a salt tax. Gandhi initiated these protests because he saw that with just one clear issue it could be possible to unite the country and break the British monopoly. Clarity is key for change – major change in particular. Taking a closer look, it is apparent that change itself is not even the problem, but rather the clear group decision that has to be made as a precondition.

Conceiving of change in terms that are too vague leads to hesitation. We could come up with 10,000 different measures for greater sustainability, but we don’t need to look at them all at once! For getting into everything at once means nothing will get done. It takes but one single, clearly defined measure to get momentum going and log an achievement or accomplish a milestone. Some may say there’s no time for baby steps, but in reality nothing will happen without them. And that we truly cannot afford.

This article first appeared in the Deutschlandfunk Kultur magazine on November 29, 2019.

Image references: "Header" // "Hand" // "Man"

Author: Hans Rusinek

Hans Rusinek is a researcher, consultant and writer in the areas of economic transformation and the future of work. He is currently a doctoral student at the University of St. Gallen, working on a dissertation on ‘Work and Meaning’ at the Institute for Business Ethics. As a consultant, he helps organizations identify and live up to their greater purpose. Rusinek is an editor-in-chief at Transform, a print magazine that addresses issues around happiness in life, sustainability and societal change, and a winner of the Ludwig Erhard Foundation prize for Economic Journalism.