Effort and Change

"When the imagination and will power are in conflict, are antagonistic, it is always the imagination which wins, without any exception." This observation from Émile Coué points to something I've discovered through my own efforts to change: our common approach to personal transformation might be backwards.

I was raised to believe that willpower was the key to change. If I wanted to lose weight, exercise more, or break a bad habit, I simply needed to try harder. This approach felt virtuous. It aligned with values of discipline and self-control that I'd learned were important. But it rarely worked for long, and when it failed, I assumed the problem was with me rather than the method.

What I've learned since then is that willpower, while valuable, is perhaps the most effortful and least sustainable approach to change. There are easier ways, and they tend to be more effective. They work with our minds rather than against them.

The Cybernetic Perspective

In 1960, Maxwell Maltz wrote a book called Psycho-Cybernetics. Maltz was a plastic surgeon who noticed that some patients felt transformed after surgery while others continued to feel the same despite dramatic physical changes. This led him to explore cybernetics, the study of how systems achieve control and communication through feedback loops.

A cybernetic system has a target, and when the system deviates from that target, it acts to move back toward equilibrium. Consider a thermostat. If the temperature in the room is too high, one strategy is to open windows and let in cool air. This might work temporarily, but when the system detects that the temperature has dropped below the target, it will run the heater to raise the temperature again. It's much more effective to simply adjust the thermostat.

Maltz believed our minds work similarly. Rather than trying to force behavioral change through willpower—the equivalent of fighting the thermostat—we can change our internal target through visualization and mental rehearsal. This requires effort, but once the new target is in place, no additional effort is needed, and the new behavior occurs naturally.

I've experienced this in my own life. When I visualize myself as someone who enjoys physical activity rather than someone who forces himself to exercise, the behavior feels different. The change happens from the inside out rather than being imposed from the outside. It's the difference between moving toward something attractive and pushing against resistance.

Present-Moment Awareness

Another approach that requires less effort than willpower is simply giving attention to current behavior without trying to change it. This can be surprisingly powerful.

I now track what I eat and the number of steps I take each day. Simply observing and recording has led to changes in my behavior. Awareness of my patterns seems to create space for different choices to emerge.

Last year, I learned that I have insulin resistance. For several months, I wore a continuous glucose monitor that gave me real-time information about my blood sugar levels. This transformed eating from an abstract concept into something concrete and immediate. I could see how different foods affected my body, and this knowledge made choices easier. It became like a game. Finding ways to keep my glucose levels stable became engaging rather than restrictive.

This approach of giving attention to current behavior complements the goal-focused visualization I mentioned earlier. I develop awareness of where I am now and a clear imagination of where I want to be. The gap between them naturally generates movement without the need for force.

Tangential Approaches

Sometimes the most effective approach to change is indirect. Rather than attacking the problem head-on, we can focus on something related that might be easier to address.

When Paul O'Neill became CEO of Alcoa in 1987, the company had been performing poorly. In his first speech to investors, he announced that his primary focus would be worker safety. Many investors sold their stock, thinking he was ignoring the real business issues.

In addition to his concern for workers, O'Neill understood something about systems: improving safety required improving processes, and better processes reduced costs and increased efficiency. By focusing on something that everyone could agree was important—worker safety—he was able to create systemic changes that transformed the entire company's performance.

This principle applies to personal change as well. Sometimes what we think is the problem isn't actually the problem. Take procrastination, for example. I used to assume that procrastination was a willpower issue. I simply needed to force myself to perform the task. But I've learned that procrastination sometimes stems from a lack of clarity.

If I don't understand the task clearly, it's natural to avoid it. If the task is too big or poorly defined, my mind will resist engaging with it. Breaking large tasks into smaller, more specific ones often eliminates procrastination without requiring any additional willpower. The solution isn't to push harder against the resistance; it's to remove the cause of the resistance.

There's another possibility worth considering: perhaps I don't want to do the task! I may believe I should do it because it's on my list, because someone expects it, or because it seems like the responsible thing to do. But if I step back and examine the task within its larger context, I might discover that it doesn't align with my deeper values or priorities. Sometimes the most honest response to procrastination is to acknowledge that the task isn't worth doing at all. This isn't about avoiding responsibility; it's about being more intentional about where I direct my energy.

Optimization

Even when change requires effort, some techniques require less time while producing similar or better results.

Consider physical fitness. High-intensity interval training produces better results than moderate-intensity continuous training while requiring significantly less exercise time. The resistance training approach described by Doug McGuff in Body by Science, where each exercise is performed as a single set of slow repetitions to failure, requires less than 20 minutes per week to achieve results that conventional methods might take hours to produce. 15 Minutes to Fitness, by Dr. Ben Bocchicchio, describes a similar approach.

I've also experimented with devices that facilitate altered consciousness. One such device is BrainTap, which uses music, binaural beats, isochronic tones, and flashing LEDs to alter brainwave patterns and induce meditative states. Another is HeartMath, which uses biofeedback to increase the coherence of the heart rhythm. Coherence is related to the functioning of the parasympathetic nervous system and emotional regulation. While traditional meditation is undoubtedly valuable, these technological approaches offer a more efficient alternative, providing similar and perhaps additional benefits.

I seek the most efficient paths to the desired outcomes. I’m willing to question what effort is necessary, and I’m willing to experiment with approaches that might seem unconventional.

The Gentle Way Forward

Sustainable change often happens when we work with our natural tendencies rather than against them. Our minds and bodies have built-in wisdom about what works and what doesn't. We can tap into this wisdom through visualization, awareness, and strategic focus.

This doesn't mean that discipline and effort are unnecessary. Rather, it means being strategic about where we apply our effort. Instead of using willpower to force behavioral change, we can use it to create conditions that make change easier and more natural.

This shift in perspective has implications beyond personal change. It suggests that many of our cultural assumptions about effort and achievement are worth reconsidering. What are the most effective paths to achieve our goals? And more fundamentally, what do we want to achieve?

These questions don't have simple answers, but they point toward a more sustainable and gentle approach to growth and change, which can also be more powerful. It's a lesson I'm still learning, and one that continues to shape my personal growth journey.