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 psychotherapistsโ 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 '๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ' or '๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ'.
The book ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ is all about becoming a 'self-changer'.
9 major processes of change
1. Consciousness-raising โ raise your level of awareness so you can make an intelligent decision
2. Social liberation โ find new alternatives to the external environment to set yourself up for change
3. Emotional arousal โ become aware of your defenses against change
4. Self-reevaluation โ assess who you might be once you have changed; visualize the result
5. Commitment โ once you decide to change, accept responsibility for changing
6. Countering โ substitute healthy responses for unhealthy ones
7. Environment control โ restructure your environment so the probability of the bad problem-causing event is reduced
8. Rewards โ reward desired behavior; indulge in self-praise or give yourself a gift for sticking to the plan
9. Helping relationships โ 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 Prosciโs 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.
๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ = ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฒ-๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ
โณWhat it means: They are unlikely to engage in the near future
โณLevers to pull: Highlight positives that help them move from I WON'T to I MIGHT IF...
๐๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ = ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ
โณWhat it means: They are thinking about engaging soon
โณLevers to pull: Connect them with peers who can positively influence them to move from I MIGHT IF to I WILL WHEN...
๐๐ป๐ผ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ = ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ฟ r๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ฎ๐ดe
โณWhat it means: They talk positively about the change and take gradual steps to fit the change into their routine
โณLevers to pull: Provide them with definitive steps TO change
๐๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ = ๐๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ
โณWhat it means: They are applying the steps but need to keep moving forward to avoid slipping back
โณLevers to pull: Offer rewards and recognition and celebration of achievements
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ = ๐ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ
โณWhat it means: They share their experience with others and work with those who have been doing it longer
โณLevers 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?
