Learn These Four Stages of Change to Develop Better New Habits
Building new, more effective habits is a challenge in itself, no matter how motivated you are. Check out these four general steps in habit formation to determine where you are in the process of change and push yourself to the next step.
Planning breaks the habit into steps that are easier to complete and keeps your focus on each step . Find out where you are now and move on from there.
- The preliminary thinking: if you have not decided to make a change, but know what you want to do something, this is the stage where you are. Think about a habit you might want to start or resume, or even just areas of your life that need to be improved.
- Contemplation : Collect your motivational “mantra” by thinking about why you want to change, and reduce it to a phrase or sentence that you can remind yourself in difficult times. You can also use this step to choose a reward for yourself when your new habit takes root.
- Preparation : Make a plan to make it easier to master the new habit. Mark each larger step to see a clear path from where you are now to where you want to be. Also consider what you will do if you run into obstacles or feel demotivated.
- Action : Launch your action plan. Give up the new habit and use the energy you spent on developing the strategy for good.
Allocating time to go through each individual step will not work for everyone, some people may just get down to business without emphasizing the strategy, but if you have found it difficult to make changes before, try this approach.
Happiness Habits Part IV: Get Ready, Set Up, Change! | The highest good