Hey , guys , and welcome back to another episode of Change Wired Podcast Podcast for change agents people into transformation , personal development and creating better world , more positive impact . I'm Angela Sharina , I'm your host , I'm your executive coach , health , personal and collective transformation coach , change leadership consultant and just someone who is also equally passionate about change and about learning the science the best better change , foster and ultimately create more beautiful and fulfilling life experiences for ourselves and people
around us . Today , guys , we're going to start with a story . You already know what this podcast is going to be about , sort of from the title , but also , today we're going to be talking about willpower and why it's truly overrated , and how we humans tend to think that we have a lot more control that we actually usually exercise , end up exercising in real life . And how choice architecture changes everything and what it actually is , and how you , in a simple way , can start redesigning your environment so it starts controlling you quote-unquote in the right way , meaning leading you truly , leading you towards your true values , your goals , your aspirations , versus ending up often with this question how did I end up here ? Why do I do the things that I don't want to do ? Instead asking well , I've managed to create one hack of a life that I'm super proud about . Things can go and be easier , and here is how . So , without further ado , let's dig in . Let's get wired for change , guys .
Speaker 1First the story . You know one of those commercials . Maybe you've seen them , maybe not , but I've been looking for some boxes or safeguards for my clients to lock their phone away so they don't end up scrolling it as often as they end up , but instead ending up using it in a more manageable , more scheduled manner . And I was looking at some stuff on Amazon and there were those videos for those boxes where a family would lock away their phone and then end up having a really amazing time together . It is playing games , talking and doing stuff instead of being on their phones . Have you seen one of those commercials ? If not , it's probably somewhere out there . Or look up on Amazon Box or Log for your mobile phone , and you'll find plenty of those videos .
Speaker 1And it happened in real life for me in a little bit different form . So one day , while during my parents' visit , wi-fi died , there was I don't know something happening and they started doing some work and there was no Wi-Fi , and so I couldn't really do a lot of work because my mobile internet wasn't that great and my parents couldn't watch much TV because our TV is fueled by Wi-Fi . And so what ended up happening ? My dad suggested we go for a bike ride , even though for days he's been saying no to all kinds of activities . I proposed , saying that his arthritis doesn't let him do that , and I'm like , okay , well , you know , it is what it is .
Speaker 1And then on the day when Wi-Fi went out that happened maybe like four days ago actually he suggested we go for a bike ride , and then after that , we ended up talking a lot more and just doing more stuff together , and at that moment it made me realize that actually , environment has a lot more control
, like truly has a lot more control over the quality of our lives , what we end up doing . Lot more control over the quality of our lives , what we end up doing , the memories , the quality time with people we have , or how we develop ourselves or don't , because we just have these easier alternatives , right ? So instead of going for bike rides , you end up watching the TV . Instead of reading more books , you end up scrolling your phone more . Instead of eating more fruit and veg , we'll end up eating well , anything that might not be that great for your health , and we think that's our fallacy of humans . We think we're in so much more control and we truly make most of the choices based on our deepest values and priorities and goals and aspirations . And when we fail to make the choice and we see that , oh , I actually want to do something else , like eat healthier , but I end up eating that crap . Or I want to read more books , but I end up scrolling my phone more and then feeling like I'm actually tired and exhausted and don't have any brain capacity to read books or to learn , we think that we're in control and we are making choices and when we fail to make the right choices , that it's something wrong with our willpower and discipline , when in reality we just made other choices a lot easier , a lot more available .
Speaker 1In behavioral science there is this term choice architecture , where we nudge people or ourselves to make choices based on our environment
. Like , for example , you take away the TV , you end up doing something else , and if you don't have other options with technology , like scrolling or doing something similar you end up doing more sports . It's like , well , if you have nothing to do , you'll end up doing something , and if you don't have options that allow you to sit on TV and just be glued to something , you'll probably end up doing something a lot more active , and probably that's how our ancestors just moved more because they didn't have many options and just sitting and doing nothing . You know your brain gets bored and you know that , and so when in the past we felt boredom , we would do something with that boredom . When now we just scroll stuff or watch stuff and this choice architecture that is described by scientists , behavioral economics and behavioral science researchers some people even got Nobel Prizes for that . So what they realized and there is a book Nudge that talks to that and , by the way , it's used by the governments to make people do good for the government behaviors or for themselves save more payment taxes and move more .
Speaker 1What more and more governments and leaders realize is architecting the choices that are better for people , like eating better . Moving more , for example , is a much more reliable strategy than communicating to people how bad certain things are or how good certain things are . Like communication doesn't work that well . What works really well , or at least much better , is changing the environment . There are other researchers , like BJ Fogg , who work on different behavior change model , and they all come up to that conclusion that there is this environment component that influences our choices , and that it actually might be a lot more powerful than our willpower or our motivation or our desire to do better . And so , instead of we tend to ask ourselves when we fail to do the right thing , we tend to ask ourselves how do I get more motivated , how do I get more disciplined , when in reality , we should be asking ourselves how do I create the environment where the choice that I want to make most often is the only possible option ? Before I used to say it's easier , no , it's the only option , because even if you put the freaking bike right by your couch , but if the TV is still there , a lot of times you would still choose the TV and not the bike right . And so these days , I say make the choice that you want to make the only available option .
Speaker 1And for humans , what's especially interesting is the part of your environment a big one , and I would probably say the most powerful one is the social aspect of your environment . So it's not what you're surrounded with , like the objects , the technology , but the people that you communicate with , that you live with your reference group , who you watch , who you listen to , who you talk to , who you admire , but especially yes , your closest relationships , your friends , people who you refer
to when making some decisions or choices . That has a bigger effect even than your environment . That's why , if you want to exercise , actually the best possible thing you can possibly do is join a group that will keep you accountable , that you admire , that you respect let's say , maybe your boss or someone who you just respect and admire is a part of some fitness group . So join that and show up for them , because you will feel like if you don't show up , they're going to think less of you , and for human beings , that is one of the biggest motivators . So our social environment thinks more of us , not less of us . So that's about environment and choices .
Speaker 1And yesterday I had a conversation with someone who we'll be recording a mini course with and he was asking me all these questions to understand better what I teach and what value I can bring to his community . And he asked well , in all of your work with behavioral science and with clients , where do you find people get it wrong ? Like what is the most common thing ? And I thought for a bit and I said . You know , the most common thing that smart people fail with is that thinking that because you are so smart and you achieved certain successes because of that , if you know a thing , the right thing , if you know the right choice , and if you decide to make the choice that that's what you're going to do from now on , when , in reality , no matter how smart you get , you still have this lazy brain that is trying to optimize for energy saving , and in most situations , you will end up doing the easier thing . So your environment controls more of your choices and even your identity and your leadership and who you end up being in your life .
Speaker 1Your environment and again a big part of it , is a social component . Your environment ends up defining your future more than any other conscious choice , and that's where a lot of smart people Get it wrong . We just still think that we are in control . Well , actually , our environment is our silent boss . We are wired to be the most adaptable species on earth , and it's a good thing , but also not so good thing , because it means that if you happen to be in the environment , which is not that great for your development and development of your potential , it means that you're not going to end up developing that potential and instead going to be in sort of mediocre level , and our environment as it gets more and more convenient to be at that mediocrity level , we less and less tap into what's actually possible .
Speaker 1There is this motivational Navy SEAL , david Goggins , who says when you think you are done , you are only at your 60% . I would probably go even further . You're probably somewhere around your 50 or less , but because of the environment , we are conditioned by people around us to just stay comfortable . Why would you risk things you know ? Stay here , you have everything figured out . Why would you go out and try things that might fail ? Why would you try to hurt yourself ? And that's what society is conditioning us and that's why you stay safe and comfortable and never actually even try to tap into what's possible for you . So your environment , just like for a plant , your soil , so to speak , will define what kind of plant you will grow into , not so much the seed of potential that you have .
And my pitch today is to you as a smart person , as a leader stop thinking I have no other choice but to get better , to grow and create the impact that I say I want to create in other people's lives , in the world , or whatever . That might be right , so not . How do I get more disciplined and how do I grow myself ? How do you position yourself in the soil or environment where the right choice is the only available choice ? So start thinking in that way and while at it , you might also ask yourself if there was no five , no Wi-Fi , no TV , no phone tomorrow , what would I do with my time ? How would I end up spending my time ? You would think , well , I would just do nothing . No , human beings do not do nothing . So think about that . And again , start thinking about your environment , not so much what kind of discipline you have and that's the pitch . And also if you are a leader , a parent , someone who influences other people , also think about that . Don't think about why they're such a wrong person or why do they make this stupid choice , but instead what's the environment around them that makes that choice the most economical from the energy perspective choice , the easiest choice . And then how can I help them ? Or maybe even without their help , change the environment . So , so the choice that I think is better for them is actually the easiest , or maybe the only one , and that they're happy they're going to be making .
Thank you , guys , for listening , thank you for tuning in . Please do share this podcast episode with anyone who you think is going to benefit from listening to this podcast , from learning from it and changing their thinking and the way they organize , they design their life . So share this podcast episode with that person and also read review on different platforms , because that allows us , by default , to reach more learning ears and shape the world in a better way . So help me create more positive impact as well . And , guys , till next time , stay tuned , keep growing and think of the soil you put yourself into , not the discipline that you need to strengthen . Till next time , keep growing .