Are you having difficulty making a needed change? Quitting smoking, losing 20 pounds, ending a toxic relationship, stopping that social media doom scrolling, etc.? You know what I mean. You "know you should stop", but you don't, can't, or won't. And with every failed attempt, you feel bad, beat yourself up, and then eat another Twinkie.
Welcome to the human race. All the insight in the world rarely leads to permanent behavior change. We know we should, if only we could. But, don't despair, change can and does happen in a very patterned and predictable way. It's all well documented by the Stages of Change Theory* (see link below).
Stages of Change - Why We Fail
And once you understand the process, it can help you along the way. You're not defective, or a failure. It's only that we tend to underestimate the effort required to create lasting change and it's easier to fall back into old patterns. Once we understand the stages of change, we can more easily make successful attempts to reach a goal.
In a future article, I will outline my experience going thru the stages of change to quit smoking. Until then, get acquainted with the stages of change.
*Reference: Raihan N, Cogburn M. Stages of Change Theory. [Updated 2023 Mar 6]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2026 Jan-. National Library of Medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK556005/
All Rights Reserved, CopyrightLiving Large Coaching & Counseling
It's Your Life. Your Evolution.
Buy Me a Coffee: Express Your Support
