Changing behavior in 40 days? Is that really possible?

Many experts say behavior change is not easy and is often agonizingly slow. You almost wouldn’t want to start. The good news? It can be done! And you don’t have to be an Einstein to do it.

Behavior change, you almost wouldn’t want to start, behavior is complex and unruly. If only there was a button you could press and poof! The change is there.

What many experts don’t know is that individual behavior and also collective behavior is actually quite easy to change. You just have to know what you’re doing….. The good news? You don’t have to be an Einstein to do it.

Behavior change is not only successful but also relatively quick to achieve. At least that is the conclusion reached by American professor John Norcross based on thirty years of studying thousands of attempts at ´self-change´.

These are attempts people make independently to stop certain behaviors (smoking, drinking, eating), to learn new behaviors (healthy lifestyle, exercise), to form better relationships and to become happier.

According to Norcross, it is possible to exhibit any desired behavior within a short period of time (40 days). However, you must follow five set steps and apply the corresponding interventions. The five steps identified by Norcross are as follows:

Step 1: emotional kickstart

It all starts with the realization of an emotional kickstart. Emotions are the engine of change. To change successfully, you must really want it and have positive expectations.

What is crucial is that you believe in your own abilities. It is also important that you are positive about the change and have some optimism about a good outcome.

Step 2: mental preparation

The second change step is thorough mental preparation. Don’t just start changing haphazardly. Rather, pause and answer a few crucial questions. What exactly do you want to achieve? What does the changed behavior look like in concrete terms? Who will help and support you in your behavioral change? What is an appropriate environment for the behavior change to take place?

Step 3: going for it

When the good feeling is there and you know what you want to achieve, it’s time to take action. It’s about unlearning old behaviors and teaching yourself new ones. In the process, you can see what works and what doesn’t. Don’t make the leap of change too big.

Cut the change into small pieces and try to implement them sequentially in a short-cycle manner. Systematically narrow the gap between now and later. And don’t strive for perfection. It’s all about experimenting, learning and realizing – that’s the trite way to effectively change your behavior.

Step 4: follow through

Setbacks are part of change. However, you should not let them get you down and try to get back on track as quickly as possible. You can use various techniques to do this: avoiding unnecessary risks, rejecting things that might throw you off your chosen path, breaking up with “wrong” friends and so on.

Step 5: retain behavioral change

The fifth and final change step relates to retaining the change. Change is not a project, but a process. Make sure that the initial enthusiasm does not fade away, but is maintained.

So is this Columbus’s egg?

Those who think they have found the “egg of Columbus” with this are wrong. Although this is a proven method, there are some critical notes. 1 is that Norcross focuses on individual, personal behavior change and not organizational behavior change.

The difficulty of collective behavior change is definitely higher. Just something to think about if you want to start this as an executive.

On the other hand, in collective behavior change you can make targeted use of the power of the masses: ‘social contagion’, networking and collective learning processes lead to collective changes happening much faster. For example, you can use the positive energy of ‘front runners’ to get things moving more quickly.

You can also encourage followers to join leaders or leaders in various ways. Provided you redefine and adjust the steps and associated interventions, you can also make real ´changes´ in organizations within a short period of time.