Taking Inspiration as Prescribed – Health Behavior

PM360

September 15, 2016

By Oliver Portmann

https://www.pm360online.com/taking-inspiration-as-prescribed/

Summary

“We don’t need to inspire people, we need to do something for them,” said a European advocacy representative. So is inspiration just smoke and mirrors, or is there tangible value associated with it? Psychology’s answer is very clear: Emotions translate into actions. The human intellect is powerful, but human emotion is stronger. When you match up knowledge versus emotions as drivers of health behavior, emotions win by leaps and bounds. So if we can inspire people emotionally, it likely has a tangible impact. And as concrete examples of patient storytelling demonstrate, that impact goes all around: The storyteller can be as moved to change behavior as his or her listeners.