STEPS IN BEHAVIOR CHANGE

There are five steps involved in successful behavior change:

1. Desire

2. Knowledge

3. Visualization

4. Planning

5. Action

No change will take place without the desire to make a change. How much do you really want to change your work habits so you will function more effectively? Desire is the key to success or failure. If you have a strong desire, you will probably initiate the change. But if you really don't want to make the change, you will probably never do so.

One part of us like things as they are even if they are bothersome and we complain a great deal. We're unworried and unconcerned about change. Another part of us is demanding more. It wants greater accomplishment. At any time, most of us experience some conflict between these two parts of ourselves; the one part not wanting change and the other part demanding change. The winning half says a great deal about whether or not we actually change.

The desire to change is an important first step, but is not sufficient. Once you desire change, you must understand what needs to be changed and how to go about changing it. Knowledge is an essential next step. Knowledge means that you have to analyze some things, discover some habits, work on some routines, think about how to increase your awareness and discover exactly what your habits are.

Once you understand what needs to be changed and how to go about changing it, you must be able to visualize yourself under the new condition. You must be able to see yourself living and performing in the new manner before you will be able to change. For instance, if you see your lack of assertiveness as a major problem in controlling your time, you will never change until you can visualize yourself acting in a more assertive fashion.

The next step is to develop a plan for accomplishing change. Most people would be reasonably good at planning if they set aside the time for it. Unfortunately, many people barge ahead without a plan, assuming that planning is necessary for others but not for them. They soon discover how untrue this is. With a good, well thought-out plan, the final step- taking action- is much easier. No change can be accomplished unless you act on those things necessary to make the chnage a reality.

Believe it or not, you can develop a habit of changing. The more new habits you create, the easier it is for you to develop still more new habits. Make changed even when changes are not necessary. Pick insignificant things and develop a new habit around them. Tackle something that you fear regularly. Do things that you wouldn't do just for the sake of doing them. Learn to raise your general awareness level and take more control over your daily actions.

Some habits are particularly resistant to change. the tendency to put things off until a deadline approaches is a prime example. The closer we get to the deadline, the more likely we are to whatever is necessary to accomplish the project. This habit formed in the early childhood. It is so firmly rooted in our lives that many of us will never be able to change it.