Stages of behavior change: Where are you and what does it mean?

Photo by Ashley Batz on Unsplash

If you’re reading this post, you are probably considering making a change in your life, or you’ve already started. You recognize that some key area of your life is out of balance and you’re not happy with the current state of affairs. Maybe a friend, family member, or doctor has recommended making some changes to your lifestyle. Maybe it’s something you’ve been thinking about for a while, but you haven’t quite gotten motivated to start yet. Or maybe you are in the middle of a behavior change process and you’re nervous about how to keep it going. 

You head over to Life Coach Google and type in the search phrase “how to start a new exercise routine” or “stress management techniques for dummies.” Coach Google serves you up several ads for trendy apps to download, and top 10 lists with advice you’ve read a thousand times, all usually tailored to folks at a very specific stage of their change process, which just isn’t going to work for everyone. You’ll make more headway when you use the tools and strategies best suited for your current stage of change. 

Photo by Firmbee.com on Unsplash

Okay, so what are these stages? For the nerdy among us, go ahead and dive into the history of the Transtheoretical Model as defined by Richard Prochaska and Carlo Di Clemente for more on the origins. For those of us who just want to get straight to the point, these two professors identified 6 stages of change that most humans cycle through several times before being able to sustain our new behavior or routine for the long-term:

1. Pre-Contemplation

2. Contemplation

3. Preparation

4. Action

5. Maintenance

6. Relapse

While most of our internet searches prepare us to move from preparation through action, very few listicles or apps are designed for folks in stages 1,2,5, or 6. Everyone is capable of moving through these stages on their own and finding a process that works for them, but you can move more easily and successfully through these stages with an awareness of where you’re at and what strategies to use given your current stage. A trained coach can help you identify your stage and customize those strategies to your life even more effectively—but if you’ve got the time, energy, and creativity, you can totally design a solid behavior change plan on your own, keeping some of these strategies in mind: 

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