Contemplating Change

Before reading this post, please review my 5/30/09 post The Stages of Change. It will provide the background you need for this post.

During the precontemplation stage, a person has no interest in changing a behavior. So let’s move on to those who have identified the need for a change. Let’s say you’ve been thinking for a couple months about starting an exercise program. This is the contemplation stage because there has been some thought about making a behavior change. Next, you make a plan to call up a friend who is a student at Bastyr University majoring in exercise science and ask her what to do next. This is the preparation stage because you seriously considered the behavior change by making a plan. The next day you call your friend. This is the action stage because you made the call. The action stage is the most difficult because it takes energy. Sometimes it may be embarrassing to take action. Let’s say your co-workers see you in your spandex work-out attire and they all laugh. Yikes, there go the stages of action, preparation, and contemplation down the drain.

Getting as far as the contemplation stage where you begin to seriously consider a behavior change is a big step. If you have a behavior you want to change, take a moment to think about a day in your life where you change that behavior. For me, I want to add a third day of exercise per week. I’ve been going back and forth between the contemplation and preparation stages for weeks now. As of this post there has been no action. Hey you know what, chicken butt. No seriously, it’s ok if it takes a long time to get to the action stage. If you’re serous about change, I encourage you to keep thinking about it. One day the motivation will come if you seriously want change. I really want to add that third day of exercise. For me, it will be spontaneous and I’ll just start doing it. Besides, the timing hasn’t been right.

Remember, behavior change is the most difficult part of creating new healthy habits. Next post I’ll discuss barriers to behavior change.