Isomorphic Change

A person might be having difficulty dealing with several areas of their life. They might be feeling overwhelmed and very broken. People can feel overwhelmed when they assume that they have to change themselves to remedy each specific area. Sometimes it is helpful to look for an isomorphism that might exist. It is easier to change a single isomorphic behavior than a variety of behaviors in different contexts.

An isomorphic behavior is what it sounds like. “Iso,” meaning “one” and “morphic” meaning “change.” An isomorphic behavior is a single behavior that changes slightly in different situations. You will recognize it by first looking at all the areas that are problematic and second noticing if the person’s reaction in each situation has a commonality that perpetuates the problem. Commonly, the very thing that a person is doing to remedy a problem is the same things that is perpetuating it.

Once an isomorphic problem is identified, it is very simple to find a solution. The first thing for the person to do, is to identify how they want to change the isomorphic behavior. The second thing the person will need to do, is to pick one problem area where they want to practice implementing the change in themselves. It is easiest to pick the problematic area where a change in the behavior will feel easiest to the person.

After a person has implemented a change in one problematic area, it will be easy to see if the change has the desired effect. If the change has the desired effect, it will become very easy for them to implement the same change in other areas. A change in one isomorphic behavior will impact multiple areas in a person’s life. This will make multiple life changes a single transition.