You know how you said you knew the
chocolate sultanas were a problem? That’s
pre-contemplation – the first of five stages
of change often used by therapists and
life coaches to meet people where their
heads are at. It’s been the go-to readiness
gauge since the late 1970s, when a bunch
of researchers from the University of Rhode
Island came up with the transtheoretical
model, known as TTM. Based on theories
of psychotherapy, it was initially used to
motivate people to quit smoking based on
progressing through these five stages:» PRE-CONTEMPLATION > When you’re
not thinking seriously about changing your
bad habit and don’t feel it’s a big problem- some call it denial! But Gurton says this
is when you might also have a momentary
thought of taking action in the future.
»CONTEMPLATION > You start to become
aware of the personal consequences of your
bad habit and spend more time thinking
about the problem. Some can contemplate
for just days while others take years to mull
things over.» PREPARATION > ‘I’ve got to do something
about this. This is serious. Something has to
change,’ you tell yourself. This is when you
make a commitment to change. Now you hit
Google and start educating yourself about
options for instilling behaviour change.» ACTION > You’re taking steps to change
your behaviour, often with support. This is
usually the shortest stage, but also the stage
during which relapse risk is highest because
the changer is relying on willpower to keep
moving forward. Hang in there...it’ll be worth
it!TO CHANGE?
ARE YOU READY
next one, creating momentum, which
keeps you motivated.
Mike Kennedy from AddsValue
Training and Coaching says that when
the ‘why’ is strong enough, the ‘how’
takes care of itself.
When it comes to taking action,
Kennedy advises ‘chunking’ challenges
into manageable segments. Once you
start taking action, your thoughts and
emotions will propel you. “Positive
thinking is the fuel for this cycle,” he
says. “Motivation is won or lost in your
thinking, so keep finding clarity and it
doesn’t matter about the stages, you
will find a way forward,” says Kennedy.
But don’t think progress will
necessarily be linear.
“Most people go through many
relapses before they are finally able
to continue with the motivated action
and sustain it,” says Sydney-basedpsychologist and counsellor Annie
Gurton. “Usually you go right back to
pre-contemplation, sometimes back
to contemplation, and immediately
set another start date – ideally, it’s the
next morning.”
Relapse triggers can be as simple
as thinking: ‘I’ve been eating well all
week, I’ll just have one day off’ or
missing a day due to sickness or leaving
your running shoes at home and not
returning to the plan the next day.
Sydney coaching psychologist Anita
Alexander says willingness to endure
discomfort and cravings for up to
four weeks is integral to change. It’s
never easy.
“The neural pathways in our brain
are very entrenched and to change
behaviour requires constant repetition
of new behaviour for more than 30
days,” she says.