Changing sometimes means we first have to break old habits
Lessons from the psychotherapy of change
There is a big push to understand the neuroscience of the brain on change.
There is also much to be learned about the process of change from psychotherapists’ work on breaking destructive habits (smoking, excess drinking, drug abuse, etc.).
As with change management theories and methods, there are over 400 systems of psychotherapy.
But all can be summarized into the essential principles of '𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲' or '𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿'.
The book 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 is all about becoming a 'self-changer'.
9 major processes of change
1. Consciousness-raising – raise your level of awareness so you can make an intelligent decision
2. Social liberation – find new alternatives to the external environment to set yourself up for change
3. Emotional arousal – become aware of your defenses against change
4. Self-reevaluation – assess who you might be once you have changed; visualize the result
5. Commitment – once you decide to change, accept responsibility for changing
6. Countering – substitute healthy responses for unhealthy ones
7. Environment control – restructure your environment so the probability of the bad problem-causing event is reduced
8. Rewards – reward desired behavior; indulge in self-praise or give yourself a gift for sticking to the plan
9. Helping relationships – accept care, support, or other forms of assistance
For each of these processes, there are dozens of techniques to use, or levers to pull, to drive success.
Research suggests that people are more likely to be successful in their change attempts when they are given two choices of how to pursue change rather than one; the success rate increases with three or more choices.
This aligns with the fact that there is no one-size-fits-all change approach.
Aligning Prosci’s ADKAR to the Trans-Theoretical Model of behavior change
Prosci's ADKAR process lines up well with the Trans-Theoretical Model of behavior change. You can choose how you talk about the change process and that may mean you adopt the language from other models such as this.
𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 = 𝗣𝗿𝗲-𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲
↳What it means: They are unlikely to engage in the near future
↳Levers to pull: Highlight positives that help them move from I WON'T to I MIGHT IF...
𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗿𝗲 = 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗿 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲
↳What it means: They are thinking about engaging soon
↳Levers to pull: Connect them with peers who can positively influence them to move from I MIGHT IF to I WILL WHEN...
𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 = 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗿 r𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴e
↳What it means: They talk positively about the change and take gradual steps to fit the change into their routine
↳Levers to pull: Provide them with definitive steps TO change
𝗔𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 = 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲
↳What it means: They are applying the steps but need to keep moving forward to avoid slipping back
↳Levers to pull: Offer rewards and recognition and celebration of achievements
𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 = 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱
↳What it means: They share their experience with others and work with those who have been doing it longer
↳Levers to pull: Move to the 'next step' of the change; go even further to start to lock in the new behavior for even more reward
What if we can become habitual successful self-changers by better understanding how we break the bad habits that get in our way?
