The Awareness Gap: Why People Reject Solutions Change doesn't start with a new piece of information or a better tool; it starts with awareness. Awareness: First, a person has to truly perceive the degree to which something is negatively affecting their life. Urgency: Next, they have to feel the urgency of doing something to change it. Until someone can fully confront those two realities, any solution or alternative perspective just feels like an intrusion, and it naturally gets rejected. Before we try to provide answers, the real work is always raising awareness.