Inspector Bruce Horne.
Our city needs to look at positive ways of making communities safer
John had his first heart attack when he was 53. His doctor told him that unless he made some significant changes to his lifestyle he would have another; and the next one would probably kill him. Apparently only 20 per cent of the people who receive advice from their doctor
of the kind given to John, act on it.
The conventional wisdom is that people resist change, but it would seem that isn't the case. I can't think of a time when someone won lotto, only to say, "No thanks, I don't like change." It's not change that people resist, it's loss. In John's case, he didn't want to lose the comfort of cigarettes and fatty pork.
When we begin to understand that resistance to change is usually driven by a concern about loss, the decisions that some people make become easier to understand. Which brings me back to the two subjects we touched on last week - family violence and criminal gangs.
A couple of weeks ago I told you about an encounter between a patched gang member and his teenage son. The gang member was telling his son not to join the gang, as it would ruin his life. Which was a bit of a confusing message for the son, who understandably asked, "But if it's so bad, why are you still there?" The short answer to that question is that his father found it too hard to give up the perceived benefits of gang membership. It was a fear of what he might lose that was a barrier to change.
