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| Excuse or Something Else? |
Everyone knows that person who always has an excuse for
everything. You might be the person giving
an excuse. I use to get so frustrated
with people that complained and complained about how they were so miserable
with their health, weight or appearance but they never do anything to help themselves.
I’ve come to realize it’s not the excuse holding them back. Instead they just aren’t ready. Sadly some people never become ready to make
changes. Instead this person will live a
long life of illness, metabolic diseases and suffer with ailments until the
end.
What makes a person ready to make a change? There is a theory called the Transtherotical
Model (Stages of Change). Everyone uses
it at some point in their life but might not be aware. What is the Transtheortical Model? It’s the processes we go through to begin
making behavioral changes. Behavioral
changes like smoking cessation, starting an exercise program or eating
healthy. There are more behavior changes
but these are a few.
There are six stages of the Transtherotical Model:
1.
Precontemplation (Not Ready)- People in this
stage don’t have any intention to make changes now or in the future. Reasons may be because they simply don’t know
they need a change. The person might have
tried many times before, failed and are afraid to fail again.
2.
Contemplation (Getting Ready) – These are people
who intend to make a change within the next six months. They are aware of the pros and cons of making
a change but they are motivated.
Sometimes people become stuck in this stage due to fear, lack of support
or money.
3.
Preparation (Ready)- This stage is typically
when changes will occur within the next month.
Actions have been taken to begin, they joined a gym, purchased a self-help book, or find a wellness coach or a trainer.
4.
Action- These are the people that are working on
their goals. They are going to the gym
or exercising at home. They have begun a
smoking cessation program. They are
working with a coach to help them lose weight or make positive health
changes. This is about a six month stage
to really know it’s going to stick.
5.
Maintenance stage- It's been six months or more and still going strong
with their behavioral changes. The
change is now a positive habit and they have more confidence (self-efficacy) in themselves and believe they won’t go back to the negative habits.
6.
Termination Stage- YES CHANGED FOR GOOD!!!! This is the stage where people can fight past
depression, anxiety, boredom, lonely and anxiousness without relapsing back to
bad behaviors. They now have alternative
methods to cope with these issues.
Where are you or someone you know in the Transtheoritical
Model? Don’t get annoyed with the
excuses because it may not be their/your time.
Be positive with people that aren’t ready for change. One day it might happen and then again it
might not. However, you cannot push them
into something they just aren’t ready to do.
I cannot drag clients across the finish line and I’ve learned that over
the years. They may regress and it’s not
my fault. Learn to let it go and understand
they might come back one day.
I encourage you to think about a behavior you want to change
and what stage you might currently be in the Stages of Change.
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