Achieving true behavioural change in your life, especially when you’re trying to change long-standing behaviours, can be a tough slog. Why is it so hard? What holds us back from making positive change in our lives?
Understanding the challenge of change
Routine
Most of us are creatures of habit, the routines that we establish for ourselves provide a sense of comfort and security. Even if the outcome of the routine is not positive, we tend to find solace in something that is familiar. Change requires us to break out of these comfortable patterns and enter new territory.
Lack of specific goals
Quite often when we want to improve our lives we don’t get past making a broad, undefined goal such as ‘I’d like to get fit’. While that’s a great start, to make change easier to achieve it helps to have measureable ‘mini-goals’ that help lead into the bigger change.
Taking on too much
When we have that lightbulb moment where we decide to make a change, it’s tempting to aim for sweeping changes across many areas of our lives at once. This tends to be unrealistic, as true change requires us devoting our attention, motivation and willpower to a goal. Making a big change is likely to absorb a bit of your time and energy, so make it achievable and ensure that you can balance these demands with the other areas of your life.
Fear of failure
It sounds strange, but it’s a well-established fact that the very idea of coming up short can make us avoid putting in true effort.
Lack of persistence
Understand that any significant change will be challenging, with good and bad days. True change occurs over time and can involve a step backward before making gains. This is all part of the process and it’s important to stick with it before retreating.
Making significant change is hard but all efforts you make bring you a step closer to the goal. The Changing for Good team are here to help support and advise you in making changes to your behaviours that may be hurting those you care about.
Achieving true behavioural change in your life, especially when you’re trying to change long-standing behaviours, can be a tough slog. Why is it so hard? What holds us back from making positive change in our lives?
Understanding the challenge of change
Routine
Most of us are creatures of habit, the routines that we establish for ourselves provide a sense of comfort and security. Even if the outcome of the routine is not positive, we tend to find solace in something that is familiar. Change requires us to break out of these comfortable patterns and enter new territory.
Lack of specific goals
Quite often when we want to improve our lives we don’t get past making a broad, undefined goal such as ‘I’d like to get fit’. While that’s a great start, to make change easier to achieve it helps to have measureable ‘mini-goals’ that help lead into the bigger change.
Taking on too much
When we have that lightbulb moment where we decide to make a change, it’s tempting to aim for sweeping changes across many areas of our lives at once. This tends to be unrealistic, as true change requires us devoting our attention, motivation and willpower to a goal. Making a big change is likely to absorb a bit of your time and energy, so make it achievable and ensure that you can balance these demands with the other areas of your life.
Fear of failure
It sounds strange, but it’s a well-established fact that the very idea of coming up short can make us avoid putting in true effort.
Lack of persistence
Understand that any significant change will be challenging, with good and bad days. True change occurs over time and can involve a step backward before making gains. This is all part of the process and it’s important to stick with it before retreating.
Making significant change is hard but all efforts you make bring you a step closer to the goal. The Changing for Good team are here to help support and advise you in making changes to your behaviours that may be hurting those you care about.
MensLine Australia is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with professional counsellors providing information and support for all emotional health issues.
Call us on 1300 78 99 78 or access online counselling.
