Most well-intentioned attempts to break bad habits fail. Over-eating, smoking, over-indulgence in alcohol, and continuing in abusive relationships are damaging personal behaviors that one might think would be easily abandoned. But anyone who has lost twenty-pounds, over and over again, or who has stopped smoking every year for the last ten years knows how difficult lifestyle behavior changes can be.
How to Break Bad Habits
According to psychological research published by James Prochaska, Ph.D. (Changing for Good, Quill Publications, 2002), only forty-percent of lifestyle-behavior changes succeed for six months. Prochaska indicates that a major contributor to the high rate of failure in breaking self-defeating habits is that most people (and many life-change programs) fail to take into account the cycles of change.
Cycles of Lasting Life Change
Prochaska defines six stages of successful lifestyle change. These are:
- Precontemplation: Failing or refusing to identify a personal habit as a problem.
- Contemplation: Being receptive to evaluating the impact of a behavior.
- Preparation: Having decided to change behaviors, making plans to take action.
- Action: Committing to action plans for changing behavior.
- Maintenance: Maintaining the hard-won gains.
- Termination: Continuing new behaviors which are now habitual and consistent.
Successful lifestyle change occurs when a person recognizes which stage she is in and uses appropriate change processes for that cycle. A typical scenario that results in failure involves a person enrolling into a weight loss or stop-smoking program because of persistent encouragement by family or friends. Many such programs are action oriented, plunging the dieter right into action steps to break the habit of over-eating or eating the wrong foods.
However, the six cycles described above reflect that there are two necessary cycles a successful non-smoker will go through before the action phase. Jumping directly into the action phase is likely to fail because the person is not yet fully motivated for action.
Somewhat surprisingly, research shows that one need not join a formal program to successfully change a self defeating behavior. The most important criteria of successful life change—whether in a formal program or self-initiated—is whether a person moves through each of the cycles of change and utilizes processes appropriate to each.
The Important Initial Cycle of Successful Change
In Changing for Good, Prochaska defines the initial stage of successful lifestyle change as Precontemplation. In this stage a person is not motivated to change. Though family and friends may have repeatedly suggested losing weight or stopping smoking out of loving concern, the confirmed smoker may not see the problem as her problem. Even medical advice to change is often discounted.
Successful progression into and through the Precontemplation cycle requires one to be open to gathering and evaluating facts. Habits are sustained because of the benefits they provide. So-called bad habits are not thought of as bad habits to the person with that habitual behavior. Confirmed smokers rationalize the smoking habit as something of benefit that relieves stress, relaxes, and enables performance at a high level.
Whether due to the persistence of loved ones or eventual self reflection, successful movement into and through the Precontemplation phase requires one to gather facts regarding the costs, benefits, and risks of the behavior and reach a conclusion to seriously consider a change.
Second Stage of Lasting Life Change
The second stage of successful life change is Contemplation. In this stage a person has gathered facts associated with the behavior in question. This stage extends the Precontemplation stage by careful and thoughtful analysis and self reflection. What are the medical risks associated with being overweight? What are the known facts about alcohol, drug, and food abuse?
One might take a glimpse into the future, visualizing what life might be like if the current behavior continues for twenty years. Heavy smokers are much more likely to have breathing issues such as COPD. The obese are more likely to develop diabetes and incur risks of kidney failure. Heavy drinkers often face liver failure and high risks of automobile accidents.
Seriously contemplating the facts of current behaviors — including the impact these habits have on loved ones — sets the stage for successfully moving forward into the next stage of Preparation.
Stop Bad Habits with Proven Processes
Psychological research, such as that by James Prochaska, can help one successfully overcome harmful, self-damaging behaviors and bad habits. Recognizing the necessity of progressing through the cycles of change and the processes effective to each stage can improve the odds of a successful life change.
Jerry Lopper - IPPA member, business and engineering degrees. Jerry's passion for personal development shows in 5 books, hundreds of articles & ...
Join the Conversation