Facts don’t matter

Some of the most visual facts about something being bad for our health are the messages plastered across cigarette packs – Smoking Kills! – and yet people still willingly and readily hand over almost £15 per pack. Why is this? What is it about the facts, and these are pretty stark ones, that mean people don’t change their minds?

When I first started as a personal trainer I was full of facts and every presentation I gave had the latest scientific evidence and facts. I’m not sure how effective that messaging was at getting people to modify their behaviours.

The economist J.K. Galbraith once wrote, “Faced with a choice between changing one’s mind and proving there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy with the proof.”

Even Albert Einstein got in on the act, saying that, “If the facts don’t fit the theory, change the facts.”

So what’s going on here? Why don’t facts change our minds? And why should someone continue to believe a false or inaccurate idea anyway? How do such behaviours serve us?

Humans need a reasonably accurate view of the world in order to survive. If your model of reality is wildly different from the actual world, then you struggle to take effective actions each day. However, truth and accuracy are not the only things that matter to the human mind. We also have a deep desire to belong. We are herd animals. We want to fit in, to bond with others, and to earn the respect and approval of our peers. Such inclinations are essential to our survival. For most of our evolutionary history our ancestors lived in tribes. Becoming separated from the tribe – or worse, being cast out – was a death sentence.

Understanding the truth of a situation is important, but so is remaining part of the tribe. While these two desires often work well together, they occasionally come into conflict.

In many circumstances, social connection is actually more helpful to your daily life than understanding the truth of a particular fact or idea. The Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker put it this way, “People are embraced or condemned according to their beliefs, so one function of the mind may be to hold beliefs that bring the belief holder the greatest number of allies, protectors, or disciples, rather than beliefs that are most likely to be true.”

We don’t always believe things because they are correct. Sometimes we believe things because they make us look good to the people we care about. If you anticipate that you will be rewarded for adopting a particular belief, you’ll be perfectly happy to do so, and you won’t really care where the reward comes from – whether it is better outcomes from better decisions, better treatment from one’s peers, or some mix of the two. When we have to choose between the two, people often select friends and family over facts.

So convincing someone to change their mind is really a process of convincing them to change their tribe. If they abandon their beliefs, they run the risk of losing social ties. You can’t expect someone to change their mind if you take away their community too. You have to give them somewhere to go. Nobody wants their worldview torn apart if the outcome is loneliness.

This is why so many people start and then “fail” diets or exercise programmes.
Facts don’t change our minds. Friendship does.

Crazy stat: The people who are most likely to change our minds are the ones we agree with on 98% of topics.

If someone you know, like and trust believes a radical idea you are more likely to give it merit, weight or consideration. You already agree with them in most areas of life. Maybe you should change your mind on this one too. But if someone wildly different from you proposes the same radical idea, well it is easy to dismiss them as a crackpot.

The word “kind” originated from the word “kin”. When you are kind to someone it means you are treating them like family. This, I think, is a good method for actually changing someone’s mind. Which is why, I think it is important to collaborate with clients to help them achieve the results that they want – hitting their targets – as they have a sense of ownership over the process and also a sense of belonging. And because of this they are more likely to work at bringing about the changes that they are after.

So who do I want to collaborate with? Anyone looking to affect change in their lives – to be healthier. I know that is a broad brush, but some triggers to listen out for might be:

“I wish I didn’t ache in the morning.”
“I wish I could get up the stairs without catching my breath.”
“I’ve signed up for a 10k… Help!”
“I’m fed up with taking these tablets.”

But more specifically I am looking for busy professionals who may not be as fit as they once were and now struggle with their health and fitness. I can help, even if they say they haven’t got time, or don’t live near me.

Through my online fitness coaching you can be anywhere in the world and still be part of my tribe.

And if you were in any doubt, I know. I’ve been there. So if you’d would like to join my tribe you’d be very welcome!