Once you have a process for how to change you can apply it to anything you want – big or small – diet, exercise, spending habits, relationships, work life etc.
I was having a discussion recently with my dentist and she was describing how difficult it is to get patients to floss daily. What tends to happen is that patients start, have a short run burst of daily flossing and then it peters out before their next visit to her. Compared to a big dramatic life change, such as changing career, this is a seemingly simple behaviour.
The fact is that sustained change is quite difficult, even for simple behaviours. However, the good news is that research shows that following a process makes sustained change much more likely.
Our process for changing behaviour
At Behaviour Works we use a 7-step process called the ‘Whale approach’ to make change happen – you can find out more about the steps and the whale approach here.
Clarify
Wish
Focus
Impact
Commit
Understand
Action
Let’s take the daily flossing example and assume that you have already identified ‘floss daily’ as the behaviour you want to change. So, let’s focus on steps 5-7.
Commit
Behaviour change research tells us that if we haven’t made a commitment to accomplish whatever we want to accomplish, it is less likely to happen. So, make a commitment pledge and place it somewhere that you frequently see it and be reminded of what you are trying to change. In the case of daily flossing stick your commitment pledge next to your toothbrush or on your bathroom mirror.
Understand
At Behaviour Works we use a model of behaviour change called COM-B. You need to have 3 things in place to change your behaviour: Capability, Opportunity and Motivation. Think of this as being a 3-legged stool and if any one leg is weak or missing then your behaviour is less likely to change.
Capability: Do you know how to floss and why you need to do it?
Motivation: Do you believe that you can floss every day, and do you feel motivated to do it?
Opportunity: Do you have the resources that you need in place to floss daily (e.g. dental floss and time to do it)?
Action
When planning to change a behaviour it is more powerful if you use a multi-action approach.
You should focus the actions you take on the weak leg of your stool as this is more likely to make change happen.
If Capability is the weak leg of your stool then some actions you could consider taking are: get the dentist to show you how to floss correctly and monitor your progress e.g. by making a note every time you floss.
If Motivation is the weak leg of your stool then the actions you could consider taking are: re-frame your thinking from ‘I need to floss daily’ to ‘I want to floss daily’; identify yourself as your own role-model e.g. I am a person who flosses daily’; give yourself a reward or treat for flossing (although not a sugary treat), and consider the consequences of not flossing daily.
If Opportunity is the weak leg of your stool then the actions you could consider taking are: make an if-then plan e.g. if I forget to floss at night I will floss in the morning; place your commitment pledge in your bathroom to prompt you to floss; place your floss next to your toothbrush, and ask someone in your family to remind you to keep you accountable.
The actions you take must be tailored to your unique situation and that is what our process helps you to work out. There is little to be gained from doing what someone else has done or is doing.
Your life is unique to you and so how you choose to make change happen needs to be unique to you to.
That might seem like a lot of thinking to change a seemingly simple behaviour but sometimes the ‘simple’ behaviours are the hardest to sustain. Once you understand the process you can bring it out of your toolbox as needed and change other behaviours – big or small.
Working through this practical process, that is built on psychological science, makes it more likely that you will get the long-term change you want.
7 tips for big or small sustained change
Use a process.
Start small – pick one behaviour to work on and build on it.
Be clear about what you want to change and why you want to change it
Be consistent.
Make a commitment.
Be accountable.
Monitor your progress.
If you want to fix your car you need the right tools and it’s the same for changing something about yourself. We all need a toolbox of reliable go-to actions to support us when making sustained change.
Learn more about the process we use in our ‘Making Change Happen’ programme by viewing Step 1 ‘Clarify’ for free. Just click on the button below.
Best wishes
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Behaviour Works aim is simple. To help make change happen in your personal, family or working life. Every week we help people across the world with their own change journey with our ‘Making Change Happen’ online training. Check us out at Behaviour Works.
Small leaf photo by Ksenia Makagonova on Unsplash
