Changing a habit is a great challenge, especially if it is well established; on the other hand, if we look in the mirror, we are all able to identify a habit that we would like to change.
At the beginning of the year we intend to do or stop doing something, several times we started well, but after a short time we did the same thing again.
- The good news is that there are effective ways to change a habit.
- Sometimes what fails is not your will.
- But your strategy.
- Of course it takes effort and perseverance.
- But without a proper method it is much harder to achieve this goal.
- Change.
To change a habit it is necessary to put into play the cognitive, emotional and volitive aspects, the decision is only necessary, but not enough, from the analysis of human behavior it has been established that the goal of changing a habit goes through six stages. They’re next.
“No one can be a slave to his identity: when there is the possibility of change, we must change. “Elliot Gould?
The process of changing habits begins when evidence begins to whisper in the ear, a voice, almost always dim, says that there is an unhealthy or positive habit in our lives, sometimes it is the others, sometimes it is the person himself who detects it. The truth is that the idea seems to be a behavior that needs to be removed.
At the same time, there is also a denial of the facts. Resistance is sometimes much stronger. We look for reasons to keep up the habit, or underestimate the arguments that invite us to change it, we tend to keep everything the same and the idea of great change does not excite us at first.
This is the longest step in the process of changing habit, lasts months, years or even a lifetime, encompasses the moment when everyone realizes that they actually have a harmful habit, and that it would be appropriate to undergo a transformation.
It is also at this stage that the decision is made to change and, finally, the first attempts are made to achieve it, however, we may face a lack of motivation or difficulties in finding the right path to change.
Preparation is the phase at which change efforts begin, it’s time to start. These are the unsuccessful, uns constant attempts that are carried out anyway, although they are not consolidated.
At this point, the person discovers the degree of difficulty that exists to change a habit, remains aware that it is essential to do so, and the main obstacles to success are identified effectively, necessary step. and represents a step forward.
At this stage there are conscious, directed and persistent efforts to achieve change, a strategy is planned to achieve this goal, and this is often motivated by the advice of others, we have had some small successes, although they are not necessarily a very radical change.
Consolidation often fails because the above steps are not complete, there are those who want to start the process with results, which is extremely difficult, in any case, at this stage there are already perfectly tangible and clear progress.
As the name suggests, this is the stage in which the new behavior is preserved, if it is gone, or if it has acquired a new habit, now the task is to make it persist and integrate into our spontaneous way of life. more security and also more confidence.
However, for the new behavior to be maintained, it is ideal to acquire new strengthening habits, for example, if the goal is to quit smoking, and you have already achieved it, it will not be harmful to accompany you with a new associated habit. It’s also very important to stay motivated and often reward yourself for your accomplishments.
Relapses are an integral part of a process of change. The human mind is not linear, it works through upward or downward curves. However, a relapse will not bring a person back to zero in the process. All the way will be useful comenzar. de new, with a much faster step.
It is advisable to resume the process from the preparation phase. It is also essential not to censor and, on the contrary, to motivate yourself and not to let doubt and mistrust take over humor. It’s always a good idea to look at what it took to relapse and identify risk factors for the future.
Changing a habit is not easy, but when you get it it also increases your sense of self-esteem, optimism and confidence in what you are able to do, your quality of life also improves and you eliminate factors that can harm you in your daily life.