You’re once again feeling motivated to eat better, exercise more, drink less caffeine or make any number of the positive lifestyle changes you've been telling yourself you want to make. You've tried before—probably declaring another attempt as a New Year’s resolution—but without feeling much success. Making a lifestyle change is challenging, especially when you want to transform many things at once. This time, think of it not as a resolution but as an evolution. Lifestyle changes are a process that take time and require support. Once you’re ready to make a change, the difficult part is committing and following through. So do your research and make a plan that will prepare you for success. Careful planning means setting small goals and taking things one step at a time. Here are five tips from APA to help you make lasting, positive lifestyle and behavior changes: Make a plan that will stick. Your plan is a map that will guide you on this journey of change. You can even think of it as an adventure. When making your plan, be specific. Want to exercise more? Detail the time of day when you can take walks and how long you’ll walk. Write everything down, and ask yourself if you’re confident that these activities and goals are realistic for you. If not, start with smaller steps. Post your plan where you’ll most often see it as a reminder. Start small. After you've identified realistic short-term and long-term goals, break down your goals into small, manageable steps that are specifically defined and can be measured. Is your long-term goal to lose 20 pounds within the next five months? A good weekly goal would be to lose one pound a week. If you would like to eat healthier, consider as a goal for the week replacing dessert with a healthier option, like fruit or yogurt. At the end of the week, you’ll feel successful knowing you met your goal. Change one behavior at a time. Unhealthy behaviors develop over the course of time, so replacing unhealthy behaviors with healthy ones requires time. Many people run into problems when they try to change too much too fast. To improve your success, focus on one goal or change at a time. As new healthy behaviors become a habit, try to add another goal that works toward the overall change you’re striving for. Involve a buddy. Whether it be a friend, coworker or family member, someone else on your journey will keep you motivated and accountable. Perhaps it can be someone who will go to the gym with you or someone who is also trying to stop smoking. Talk about what you are doing. Consider joining a support group. Having someone with whom to share your struggles and successes makes the work easier and the mission less intimidating. Ask for support. Accepting help from those who care about you and will listen strengthens your resilience and commitment. If you feel overwhelmed or unable to meet your goals on your own, consider seeking help from a psychologist. Psychologists are uniquely trained to understand the connection between the mind and body, as well as the factors that promote behavior change. Asking for help doesn’t mean a lifetime of therapy; even just a few sessions can help you examine and set attainable goals or address the emotional issues that may be getting in your way. Making the changes that you want takes time and commitment, but you can do it. Just remember that no one is perfect. You will have occasional lapses. Be kind to yourself. When you eat a brownie or skip the gym, don’t give up. Minor missteps on the road to your goals are normal and okay. Resolve to recover and get back on track.
Behavior change is the process of changing certain behaviors like habits to make room for new ones or to give up ones that are not serving you. When it comes to fitness and health, creating sustainable, lasting behaviors is essential for maintaining your healthy habits and reaching your goals. Creating goals can quickly become overwhelming, especially if you are unsure where to start. It is also common for people to jump in headfirst and try to take on too much change at once, leaving them feeling stressed. When this happens, it often leads to giving up altogether. The key to behavior change in fitness is using some tried and true methods based on psychology. These methods slowly and incrementally build up for less stressful or overwhelming transitions in your lifestyle habits. Below we help you make sense of the stages of behavior change as well as equip you with some methods to try as you implement change. Making a lasting change in behavior is rarely a quick or easy process. In fact, if you want to make changes that last it helps to recognize that it will involve a commitment to your goals as well as the time, effort, and emotion to make it happen. It also helps to understand the stages of change that people go through. Overall, there are six main stages of behavior change that most people go through on their journey. These include precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and termination or relapse. Here is a closer look at each of those stages. The precontemplation stage is the period before you are ready to make changes. This phase usually occurs at least 6 months before you will be prepared to change your current behaviors and patterns. Perhaps you are not aware of how undesirable your current lifestyle is, or you do not feel like making changes is necessary. During contemplation, you are starting to plan to make changes in the near future. You have weighed the pros and cons of making changes or staying the same and have decided that change is necessary. However, you may still feel some ambivalence toward changing and are not quite ready yet. This is the 30-day countdown period toward change. You have made up your mind to make some alterations in your lifestyle and habits so that you can work toward healthier choices. You believe that change is necessary and are starting to take small steps toward achieving it. You have been making changes in this stage for up to 6 months. This is still early in the game, and you need to be vigilant and purposeful as the healthier habits are still new. The maintenance phase is when you have been successfully acting out your new behaviors and have made lasting changes for more than 6 months now. What’s important now is avoiding relapse and making sure the changes you have made stick. Termination is the point where you have no desire to return to your past behaviors. It is the ultimate goal of lasting behavior change. Relapse is also common when behavior change has failed to be permanent. While relapse is avoidable, it does happen. Trying out different methods for behavior change can help you discover what works for you. Ideally, you will not relapse, but if you do, or if you are currently in that phase, do not be discouraged—this is normal, and you can start over.
Psychologists use a few methods for creating lasting behavior change that you can pull from during your journey toward your fitness and health goals. Here are some ideas that you can draw from as you work toward change. Positive psychology is the practice of focusing on your strengths and not your deficits or weaknesses. With positive psychology, the idea is to practice gratitude and optimism about your past, be content with the present, and have hope for your future.
The idea is to create an environment and lifestyle that supports your behavior change by focusing on your strengths and building on them, rather than trying to “fix” the things you believe are weaknesses. It is a mindset shift that encourages positive thinking about yourself, your abilities, and your progress, rather than focusing on what you believe you are doing “wrong.” One way to put this into practice is to start a gratitude journal. In the journal, you can write down your accomplishments, what your body provides you, and what you are thankful for. Using SMART goals is a classic method of making behavior change last. The way to implement SMART goals is to make them:
Self-determination theory is the idea that a person's ability to make choices for and manage their life is within their grasp. In other words, a person believes that they are capable of change and that they control their behaviors.
When you believe you are in control, you are more likely to be motivated to take action toward the changes you want, and you recognize you can affect the results with your actions. People with self-determination also understand that they are responsible for their successes and their failures. One of the best ways to help you achieve self-determination is to find social support. Find a workout buddy or accountability partner that you can work with. Supportive social environments boost motivation and increase self-determination. Avoid situations and people that discourage you or do not offer positive support. Using rewards is tricky because relying heavily on them can backfire. The best way to use rewards to reach your fitness goals is to pick something that will not only encourage you but also help you maintain your habits when you are newly building them.
Once you have the practice in place, back off from using rewards because they can actually decrease your natural motivation. If you have no interest in participating in your new habit, such as strength training, yet you know you want to and should do it, using a reward can help you get there. Once you participate in the habit, the idea is that you will find internal (intrinsic) motivation to continue it. This type of motivation works better for sustaining your habit and includes internal motivators like noticing how great you feel after your workout and acknowledging that you look and feel stronger. It also might mean noticing your increased energy, better sleep habits, and other reinforcing feelings. Recognizing these things keeps you looking forward to your workouts. Maintaining your motivation and new behaviors is vital for lasting change. The maintenance phase includes avoiding your previous undesired behaviors while continuing your new ones. Setting yourself up for success from the start will make you less likely to relapse. If you have chosen a workout buddy or accountability partner, they can help you stay on track. Check-in with one another and be open about your struggles. Look for encouragement from your buddy to keep you on track, whether that is making gym dates and sticking to them or reporting to them about your successes and failures. Review your gratitude journal to remind yourself of all the positives that come with maintaining your new behaviors. You can also write out a cons list of all the things you will miss out on if you revert to old habits.
If you have been tracking and measuring your goals, look back and see how far you have come and what you have been able to accomplish. Keep reviewing your goals to see if they are relevant to you and if they are attainable. Reviewing and adjusting your SMART goals is part of the ongoing process—they are not set-it-and-forget-it but an evolving set of ambitions to work toward. Changing them and adapting them as you go is helpful and provides you with more self-determination because you know you are in charge. Making changes in your habits and lifestyle can be very challenging. It is helpful to remember that progress is not linear—there will be ups and downs to your journey.
Taking responsibility for your outcomes and working to continue your progress is key. Knowing that you are in control of your results keeps you from feeling hopeless. Reach out for support from a supportive social circle for best results. |
What are some effective ways or strategies you can use to change your fitness habits and behaviors on a permanent basis to achieve an active healthy lifestyle?
Pos Terkait
Copyright © 2024 ketiadaan Inc.
