How do I know I’m ready to make a lifestyle change?

Do you find yourself thinking about making behavioral changes? If yes, your curiosity alone is a strong sign that there's at least one behavior you're feeling ready to change - even if you're not all the way there yet.

A question you may have is, “how do I know I'm ready to make this behavior change?". This is a thoughtful question to ask when considering making a lifestyle behavior change. It's also normal to wonder if you have the capacity, tools, and willingness to make the change. Change is difficult and it takes time, mental energy, effort, and deliberate action to stay consistent - wanting to make sure you’re ready to make that investment is understandable.

Get clear on where you’re At right now

To start, let's talk about the stages of behavior change - aka the Transtheoretical Model - of which there are 6; this can help us get more clear on how ready we might be at this time:

1) Pre-Contemplation: We're currently not considering change and may be actively resistant to the idea of it. We might even be unaware of the harmful impacts that a current behavior is having on us. When we do think of making a change, we tend to focus on the challenges of it and underestimate or overlook benefits we can receive.

2) Contemplation: We're aware of the potential benefits of change and are considering a different path; although we're not quite ready to take the plunge right now, we'd like to within the next 6 months. We may feel pulled in two directions at this point: open to the idea of change and hopeful of how that can transform our future, while also concerned, a bit doubtful, or even scared.

3) Preparation: We're fired up, ready to go, and feel committed to making a change within the next 30 days. We are actively planning and preparing for making behavior changes by setting goals, establishing a plan of action, and gathering resources we'll need to succeed.

4) Action: We're actively implementing new behaviors and strategies. We've committed to the change, are building a support system, monitoring progress, and celebrating successes to maintain these new habits.

5) Maintenance: We've stayed consistent with new behaviors for over 6 months and are committed to sustaining these changes long-term. We're learning more about what works well for us, what doesn't, and the challenges we face in staying consistent. We're identifying areas we can continue to improve upon and are building a toolbox of strategies to help us navigate roadblocks, maintain our progress, and avoid falling back into old habits.

6) Termination: We've now established and sustained the behavior; it's become a routine part of our lifestyle and we don't have to think about doing it - we just do it. It's automatic. At this point we have "terminated" the change process and might be ready to shift our focus to another behavior.

No one stage is more or less desirable, superior or inferior, better or worse than another. We are where we are in a given moment and that is okay. Additionally, at every stage we may experience ambivalence, hesitation, and concern about our ability to keep going. This is normal and is not a sign of not being ready or able to make/sustain the change...we may just need to pivot a bit, which is a topic for another post.

I've worked with hundreds of people all at different stages of change when we started our partnership. Where we start in the stages of change isn't what determines our success; rather, how willing and able we feel to make (or continue making) a change does.

Questions for Reflection

So, if you're asking, "am I ready to do this?" I encourage you to ask yourself 3 questions:

1) What are 1-3 small actions I CAN do right now?

➡ Put all thoughts of what you think you "should" do out of your mind and focus only on what you have the capacity to do.

➡ Aim to consider small actions that will help you build to the big change you want to make. Things that feel like "light lifts". For example:

3) What tools/resources might I need to make sure I can do this action every day?

➡ Commit to doing the action you choose every day for at least 2 weeks.

When we're embarking on a lifestyle change journey, we don't have to start with the big change behavior we're aiming to implement right from the jump. Taking the change on in small, incremental steps actually helps us with maintaining consistency and also gives us the time to learn about what is working well, what isn't working well, and what obstacles we face in staying consistent. This helps us adjust and fine tune to ensure our change is not only sustainable, but a good fit, and helps build our confidence in how ready we feel.

If you’re on a change journey and would like additional guidance, I’ve got your back - schedule a free 15-minute consultation today and we’ll chat about how personalized health coaching can support your journey.