Handbook for Developing Emotional and Social Intelligence: Best Practices, Case Studies, and Strategies

16.4. SUSTAINED DESIRED CHANGE IS INTENTIONAL

What the studies referred to above have shown is that adults learn what they want to. While this sounds trite, the important distinction is that often people engage in learning or development activities for other reasons. That is, they attend a program to get a degree, not necessarily to learn something. They attend a training program because they think their boss wants them to do it or it is expected by the corporate human resources department. In this way, it appears that most, if not all, sustainable behavioral change is intentional. Sustained desired change is an intentional change in an aspect of who you are (for example, the Real) or who you want to be (for example, the Ideal), or both.

Another ...