The 5 stages of change
Change can feel like a big deal. It can also feel like change is only real when we take action - like behaving differently, making a different decision, or taking a leap of faith.
It makes sense to think we haven't made progress on change when we haven't done anything concrete. It can feel like we are procrastinating, not working hard enough, or there is something wrong with our efforts. This belief can be super frustrating and demotivating.
What if I told you that there are 5 stages of change and taking action is actually stage 4 out of 5? There are 3 entire stages before the part where you take action!
Here are the stages:
Precontemplation - You're just engaging with life normally.
Contemplation - You feel something needs tweaking. You start to have repeated thoughts about what that could be. You're thinking about how, what, why you may want to change.
Preparation - You start making plans to enable the change, to prepare yourself to take action.
Action - You take action and make the change.
Maintenance - You keep taking that action for as long as you can. You keep yourself accountable.
Change is not a one-step process. Each stage requires serious work.
For most of stages 1-3, this work happens internally so we don't readily see any proof of it. It is still work we can take credit for and acknowledge. These stages are tumultuous because this is where we wrestle with conflicting thoughts and where we need courage to reflect and make challenging choices. When we think of this work as the first stages of change, it can help us see our progress as actual progress.
So taking action (stage 4) is perhaps not as big of a deal as we thought it was:
Action is the result of the previous 3 stages. We won't be motivated to take action until we've contemplated why we want to change. We may not be successful if we don't have a thoughtful plan of how we want to make the change.
Action also requires stage 5 to survive. Doing the new action once does not mean much in the long run. Diligent and intentional maintenance prevents regression and helps us keep the change we've made. We perform the maintenance for as long as we need until we don't need to (or want to) anymore.
I invite you to think of something you are trying to change, in yourself or in your organization. Which stage do you think you're in now? How can you give yourself credit for being in that stage and the previous stages you have been through? What stage(s) are you moving into next?
Curious? Sign up to receive an email with each new post!
Prefer to watch/listen instead?
Here's the blog in video format!
