Creating Positive Change In Three Steps
How can we make lasting changes to our lives? It’s a question many of us ask when we struggle to break bad habits that affect our wellbeing. We might want to eat more healthily, introduce exercise or change how we deal with stress, but too often it feels like there isn’t time to address the issue and our needs sit at the bottom of the to-do list.
At The Enjoy Movement, we use a simple 3 step plan to help clients create sustainable change. Here’s how to do it.
Step 1 – Re-group
Start by making time to gain insight into one area of your wellbeing that’s holding you back. It could be sleep, stress, food or exercise. Create space in your diary for reflection and make it a non-negotiable appointment!
Now you have time to think about the change you want to make, ask yourself the following:
- What ‘big picture’ changes would you like to have made in 6-8 weeks? Set your intentions – these should be smart, simple and meaningful to you.
- What are the costs and benefits of changing/not changing? Compare them and ask, are the costs worth it?
- Finally, are you ready to change? If you have given yourself enough time to reflect, the answer will be clear, and you can move onto the next step.
Step 2 – Reset
Once you’ve identified something you’d like to change, think about how you will break old bad habits and form new positive routines in their place. Here are the rules of behaviour change to help empower you.
How to make good habits and break bad ones
- Make a good habit Obvious, Attractive, Easy and Satisfying
- Make a bad habit Invisible, Unattractive, Difficult and Unsatisfying
So, if you’re keen to develop a healthier bedtime routine, make it obvious by setting an alarm to signal that it’s time to start winding down. Then make it attractive with fresh bed linen, soft lighting and relaxing scents in your bedroom. Make it easy by removing distractions like electronic devices and work papers and make it satisfying by taking a warm bath in the hour before you settle to sleep.
From mindless phone-scrolling to caffeinated drinks whilst working in bed – by intentionally listing the positive steps you will take to create a new habit, you will also highlight those bad habits affecting your sleep quality until now. It is then a natural progression to list the strategies you will put in place to make these old habits Invisible, Unattractive, Difficult and Unsatisfying. You’re nearly there!
Step 3 – Rise
It is truly rewarding to see our clients reach this step in their mission to bring about change. This final step involves using the work you have done so far to create an achievable action plan with clearly outlined goals. Use this list to help you complete it.
What is your goal?
What is needed to stay committed and make your changes sustainable?
Whose help do you need - how can you get it?
What are the potential barriers - how will you overcome them?
How will you feel in 6-8 weeks when you have made these positive changes?
If some of these questions feel like big ones, don’t panic. Take your time answering them, and remember that any positive change you make is significant, however minor it seems. As James Clear says in his book Atomic Habits
“Success is the product of daily habits—not once-in-a-lifetime transformations”
To find out more about how we can support you with creating positive change in your life, please contact us at info@theenjoymovement.co.uk.