Strategy:
Take baby steps
In one San Francisco State
University study, researchers found that participants were more successful when
their goals were gradually approximated. Write down the behavior you want to
change. Then to the right, write your goal. Draw four lines between the two and
write a progressive step on each that takes you closer to your goal.
The first week, he would arrive
by 9:20 a.m., then five minutes earlier each subsequent week until he achieved
his goal.
Strategy:
Simplify the process
Methods of changing are often
unnecessarily complicated and frenetic. Through simplicity, clarity arises.
Instead of waiting in line at
Starbucks, he would buy coffee in his office building.
Strategy:
Prepare for problems
Perfect worlds don't exist, and
neither do perfect learning situations. Pamela Dunston, Ph.D., of Clemson
University, found cueing to be an effective strategy.
His alarm clock failed to rouse
him, so for the first month he'd use a telephone wake-up service.
Slower Is Better
Everything has its own natural
speed; when altered, unpleasant things happen. Change is most effective when
it occurs slowly, allowing behaviors to become automatic.
Strategy:
Establish calm
Life is like a stirred-up lake:
Allow it to calm and the mud will settle, clearing the water. The same is true
for change.
To make mornings less harried,
he no longer ran errands on his way to work.
Strategy:
Appreciate the path
Author Ursula LeGuin once said,
"It's good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that
matters, in the end." Don't devise an arduous path; it should be as rewarding
as the goal.
He enjoyed almost everything
involved in being punctual. The coffee could be better, but it was a small
price to pay.
Know More,
Do Better
Surprise spells disaster for
people seeking change. Knowing more about the process allows more control over
it.
Strategy:
Monitor your behaviors
Some therapists insist on
awareness of both current and desired behaviors, but research suggests it's
sufficient to be aware of just the new one.
In a journal, he recorded the
time taken for each step of work preparation.
Strategy:
Request feedback
A study in the British
Journal of Psychology found that reflecting on personal experiences with
others is key to successful change. But because complimenting new behavior
implies that the observer disliked the old one, it can make observers feel
uncomfortable. If, for example, you were once demeaning to people, few would
now say, "It's nice talking with you since you stopped being a jerk." Give the
observer permission, suggests Paul Schutz, Ph.D., of the University of
Georgia, and you will receive feedback.
Every Friday he asked a friend
how well he was doing with his time problem.
Strategy:
Understand the outcome
Success is satisfying, and if
you know why you succeeded or failed, similar strategies can be applied when
changing other behaviors.
Every morning, he analyzed why
he did or did not arrive to work on time.
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