The Big Secret To Making Changes That Last
Think you can't change? Many of us already know that we need to improve
our state of well-being in order to extend our lives as we age. Making
changes is traditionally difficult, but the good news is that it's
never too late to make changes for the better. The first step is to
understand what's important to you, and then determine the choices and
decisions that represent where you want to be. Maybe you want to start
a new career, lose weight, stop smoking or start exercising. Whatever
the change is, be sure you understand why you want to make the change.
Take a moment to think about a time in your life when you made a successful
change or developed a new habit. What was your motivation for the change?
What was your attitude at the time? What obstacles or barriers did you
have to overcome? Your level of readiness to change will determine how
successful you are, and how much time it will take. Once you make the
decision to change, you must practice that new behavior one day at a
time until it becomes a habit - a lasting change.
Embracing the concept of change is a big thing, because interestingly, many
people think they don’t have a choice when it comes to change. Why? For
some it's fear, guilt, love, pain, time management or even a court order.
What motivates one person may not be the same thing that gets another person
to act. Everyone reacts differently to changes, whether voluntary or
mandatory.
To start making a change, let go of certain assumptions or ways of doing
things, to make room for new ideas. Work on this one day at a time until
you feel comfortable. This often comes into play when I work with sedentary
people to increase their activity level (people who work a lot and don't
have a lot of time to exercise). One of my clients' complaints was, "I
don’t want to take an hour or 30 minutes to walk." My solution was to
suggest several two-minute intervals that would equal 30 minutes throughout
the day — just stand up, walk around and visit people throughout the
office, for example. The result was successful. He exercised and actually
became more sociable as a result! Once he became comfortable with walking,
I got him up to 10-minute intervals three times a day. Now he’s walking
30 minutes at one time and enjoying it. This all took place over the course
of a few months.
To make a lasting change, you start wherever you are and stretch a tiny
bit more each time. If you fall off the wagon, or experience resistance,
identify the cause or circumstances— who you were with, where you were,
or your emotional state. The key is to get up and get back on the path
again. You may go back and forward a few times because making a lasting
change is hard. Your level of readiness to change will determine how
successful you are, and how much time it will take. But you need to be
ready, able and willing to make change happen.
Hiring a personal trainer will get you better results, and faster results
than if you did it by yourself. The trainer will also keep you safe, and
steer you away from the pitfalls.
