Key Steps to Transforming Your Life
Posted on January 22, 2012 by Lynn Chapman, One of Thousands of Health and Fitness Coaches on Noomii.
These steps are based on behavior change research and can help get you started in your self-assessment before you begin coaching.
We all have areas in our life that we’d like to change. But somehow that change eludes us. I’ve had my own share of things I’d like to change in my life. In many areas I have been able to make positive changes, whereas, sometimes I still get stuck by an old story. I believe we are all works in progress. My passion is to help people make changes in their life that are sustainable. I’ve been a health educator for over 25 years—writing, teaching, and providing support to others about how to deal with some of the toughest challenges of their life. I’ve worked with people who have HIV, Parkinson’s disease, asthma, and diabetes and those who care for them. Although these disease states are challenging to live with, I’ve been blessed to meet some incredible individuals who have learned to live well in spite of their health.
Many of you won’t be dealing with a chronic health challenge, but you have other challenges whether financial, career-related, repeating old cycles in relationships, or wanting to be healthier to feel better and prevent yourself from getting ill. Responding to these questions will take you through the steps that will make change possible.
The Bad News
Change isn’t easy for anyone. We’re influenced by our parents and the environment in which we grew up, the media, partners, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and others. We’re also lured by all the things that we think will bring us happiness. There are lots of outside forces pulling us away from what we know we need to do to improve our lives, however, because those forces are often so strong many of us just give in to those temptations or we do nothing at all. In addition to the outside forces, the inside forces can be even stronger. We have constant thoughts and beliefs about ourselves that can sabotage our ability to change. We have fears, lack of confidence, past experiences that didn’t go well, and a long list of shoulds.
The Good News
Not all is lost. We always have choice over which voices, thoughts, and beliefs to listen to. We get to decide whether to harness the powerful voice within ourselves for positive change or not. That’s the one that tells you your good enough, you’re smart enough, and you’re not too old. Being able to change is about looking at which beliefs get you stuck and prevent you from moving forward.
Here are the key steps on your path to transforming your life.
1. Have the knowledge and awareness that your beliefs and thoughts are powerful
What you tell yourself on a constant basis is what you get. If you look at the world with a half full glass your tendency will be to have more positive self-talk. Conversely if you look at the world with a half-empty glass, your self-talk will be more negative. Everyone has some negative self-talk. If your negative self-talk is holding you back from getting what you want, you need to start telling yourself something different. I know—easier said than done. However, challenging the beliefs that set our self-talk into motion is essential to changing them.
2. Set intentions that resonate with your greatest desires
Once you decide to change what you believe, than you need to write down your intention for the changes that are your top priority. These are changes you want to make, not what others want for you. I intend to………. has more weight than other words such as I want to, I plan to…. Behaviorists have proven this with research. Writing them down and telling others about them makes them even more potent.
3. Take SMART actions
Translate your intentions into doable actions. Intentions need to be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely or SMART for short. For example, I intend to go the gym and ride the exercise bike for an hour on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Then ask yourself does it meet the SMART criteria. Make sure you can give your actions at least an 7 on a scale from 1=lowest to 10=highest when you read through each of the SMART steps. Be sure that your actions are under your control. If they are not, you will fail. If you need new skills to make your transformation a reality, make that one of your intentions and write action steps to support it.
4. Get support
Who in your life will support this new change/behavior? Oftentimes changing affects other people who may not want us to change. Be sure to surround yourself with people who do.
5. Celebrate small triumphs
No matter how small the change, if you’d made progress towards your goals, celebrate. It will keep you going during more challenging times.
I hope this has been useful to you. Send any feedback to me at lynn@lynnchapmancoaching.com.
Copyright ©Lynn Chapman
