The Rider, The Elephant, and The Path

How to think about making change



The Rider, The Elephant, and The Path



from the book in your brain

1 The Rider

The Rider loves to contemplate and analyze, doing so with a negative bias, almost always focusing on problems rather than solutions. The Rider is frustrated by uncertainty and easily exhausted.



is a metaphor for



The rational mind

Typified by the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain that looks for patterns, makes plans, predicts the future, monitors the self, and attempts to distinguish between and suppress animal instincts.



2 The Elephant

The elephant is easily spooked and hates doing things with no immediate benefit. It is stubborn, needs reassurance, and is quickly demoralized. But it is powerful, tireless, and difficult to actively direct.



is a metaphor for



The emotional mind

Typified by the amygdala, the root of fear and trigger of the body's stress response. Negative emotion has a narrowing effect on range of thought. Positive emotion allows the mind to wander creatively.



3 The Path

Even when the Rider and the Elephant cooperate, they must know what direction to head. Without a clear vision of the destination, change will not happen. The Elephant tends to follow the path of least resistance.



is a metaphor for



The environment

External stimuli make up the world that the mind consciously and unconsciously interprets and reacts to. Forces like convenience, distraction, and cognitive biases play a significant role in directing behavior. How to think about making change The The The Rider. Elephant, and Path ( from the book) ( in your brain ) is a metaphor for The Rider The rational mind The Rider loves to contemplate and analyze, doing so with a negative bias, almost always focusing on problems Typified by the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain that looks for patterns, makes plans, predicts the future, monitors the self, and attempts to distinguish between and suppress animal instincts. rather than solutions. The Rider is frustrated by uncertainty and easily exhausted. is a metaphor for The Elephant The emotional mind The elephant is eaily spooked and hates doing things with no immediate benefit. It is stubborn, needs reassurance, and is quickly demoralized. But it is powerful, tireless, and difficult to actively direct. Typified by the amygdala, the root of fear and trigger of the body's stress response. Negative emotion has a narrowing effect on range of thought. Positive emotion allows the mind to wander creatively. 34 is a metaphor for The Path The environment Even when the Rider and the Elephant cooperate, they must know what direction to head. Without a clear vision of the External stimuli make up the world that the mind consciously and unconsciously interprets and reacts to. Forces like convenience, distraction, and cognitive biases play a significant role in directing destination, change will not happen. The Elephant tends to follow the path of least resistance. behavior. Adapted from a book by Dan and Chip Heath: Switch How to change things (Cwhen change is hard Design by: @ptvan