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Keeping Up the Good Work
By David Junno Psy.D.
How many times have we started a plan for healthier living, and after a few slip-ups given up? We’re watching our diet, but after going off it a few times, the diet is out the window. We have an exercise routine but after missing a day or two, we stop exercising. Sound familiar?
If we have already convinced ourselves of the importance of living healthier, if we’ve done our homework and designed a program that meets our goals, then the problem may be that we have not prepared for the inevitability of setbacks. Preparing for setbacks is the essence of what Prochaska, Norcross and DiClemente, in their book Changing for Good, call the maintenance stage of change. In their research on change, they found that people typically go through several stages in their efforts. The last stage is maintaining their change overtime.
Our plans won't work without us!
There are two ways we can run into trouble during the maintenance stage. The first is not continuing to put in adequate effort. Too often after we have worked so hard to start making positive changes in our lives, we start slacking off. It is almost like we think that just because we’ve started making changes that now the changes will take on a life of their own without our input. Wrong! The fact is, for changes to be maintained we need to maintain the effort that got them started in the first place. Prochaska et al, state that the maintenance stage may last for several years. We often underestimate how long it will take before our new changes become habit and routine, and then fail to put in adequate effort over time.
Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, start all over again...
The other problem is not adequately preparing for setbacks. The fact is most changes consist of taking a few steps forward and an occasional step back. If we have not anticipated the potential of having a slip, we may get unnecessarily discouraged when it happens. This can lead to feeling we cannot make the changes we want. We need to prepare for the fact that at some point we may fall off our diet or exercise plan. When that happens, we need to just go back to our original plan.
For example, if we are trying to avoid saturated fats and end up having pizza out with friends one night, the solution is to go back to our low saturated fat diet the next day. If we stop exercising for a few days, there is no reason we cannot start up again today. If we have too frequent slips, then we may need to address our commitment to change or our plan.
So if you have started making positive changes in your diet and exercise plan- CONGRATULATIONS! But don’t forget to keep up the good work.
Quotes
Fall down seven times, get up eight
Japanese Proverb
Finish each day and be done with it...You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you should begin it well and serenely.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Remember, having the right diet and getting enough exercise will not only improve your health- IT WILL IMPROVE YOU LIFE.
Until next time,
Dave Junno Psy.D. Dave Junno Psy.D. is a psychologist, coach and author of Lowering High Cholesterol and Reducing Your Risk of Heart Disease- READY OR NOT!
www.lower-high-cholesterol-ready-or-not.com
