Stages of Change

Stages of Change

 From http://www.newyouin22.com/p/aff/video/12704

The Thomas and Sosin (2011) text keeps getting more interesting as we get closer to the end.  I really appreciated the section on the Stages of Change.  I learned about the Trans-theoretical model last year and it has helped me a lot on my own life.  I used to jump into things quite quickly and did not always achieve the results I wanted.  I can also be very persuasive and have encouraged others to start things in the past without giving things a lot of thought.  Once I learned the stages of change, it helped me understand why I needed to give things more though and not jump into changes so quickly.  For instance, I have a dieting group on Facebook, and now I encourage the others to really look at the reasons they want to lose weight and consider which plan may help them the most depending on their reasons.  We talk more about the things that might trip us up, and make back up plans.  We talk about how we might avoid temptations and what we will do if have a setback.  Knowing the stages of change has helped us to be more realistic.  I make sure I don’t start something too quickly when I am still in the Pre-contemplation stage, but wait until I have worked through it and Contemplation.  I take time to make the proper Preparation before I enter the Active Stage. I have also learned to be kinder and gentler to myself when I fail and realize that setbacks and cycling through the stages is more realistic.  I used to feel everything had to progress linearly, but that is not realistic.  I feel like my progress is slower, but steadier and I’m no longer putting undue pressure on others to follow along.