Change For The Long-Run

If you’re like most of us, you are constantly on a quest to improve something in your life. So, you’ve made a recent change and you want to make sure you stick to it. Try these tips to make it stick. Soon you’ll be living with a long-term change that leads to a healthier you!

Step 1
First off, fully accept to your deepest core that you cannot participate in the old behavior anymore, not even one more time. Perhaps you are practicing dishonesty in your life in some area. You know that you do not want to continue this, but again and again you find yourself covering over information or behavior you do not want discovered. The more you tell yourself I can handle this the more your pattern will continue. You must accept that you cannot handle it.

Step 2
Second, don’t make this change alone. There is a very good reason that so many rehabilitation programs insist on group participation. It’s the power of the collective mind. People around other people wanting the same healthy behavior receive a better mindset just by being in the same room. The same goes the other way as well. If you have decided to stop spending money that you don’t have, going on an all day shopping trip with your friends is not advisable. Find one person who has made this change in their life and ask them to hold you accountable. Perhaps, for a time, when you do go shopping you agree to call this person and tell them exactly how much money you can spend. And then, and this is crucial – call this person again when you return home and honestly assess how you did. This second phone call is key because knowing you must report back will be with you as you practice your new behavior.

Step 3
Next, reward yourself for good changes! And allow the reward to increase as the new change continues. Perhaps you are determined to keep your home clean. You stick to a steady housecleaning plan – calling your accountability partner when you start and when you end your cleaning time. Once a month, pay for someone else to clean your home – you’ve earned it! It is advisable to have the reward match the change. If you decide to give yourself an ice-cream cone after you clean and you really don’t like to pick up after yourself, it won’t be long before you decide to just skip the cleaning and the ice-cream cone all together. Keep the reward close to the change and you will have more motivation to stick to the plan.

And if it is something particularly hard to change – take away all temptation! If you are having trouble staying in your budget don’t take your credit cards with you, or better yet, cut them up. That way, if you get the impulse to buy something out of your price range, you will have to call and get a replacement card to do so. It’s likely that the heat of instant gratification will subside and you’ll leave that next card at home, too.

Finally, the truth is, change is hard. So, don’t think of yourself as making a change, think of yourself as already having made the change. You are someone who spends within their budget. You are someone who keeps honest accounting. You are someone who eats healthy. You are someone who keeps a clean home. You have already stepped into a new being and you are fulfilled.

So, grab on to others who have gone before you and get ready to reward yourself. Change is in the air and you are someone who makes changes for a healthier life!