I’m Ready To Make A Change

Step 3:  I’m ready to make a change

Congratulations on getting to this phase of your Personal Roadmap to Change!  You’ve either completed the other phases with the work you’ve done with us or perhaps you came to our website ready to make a change.  Either way, there are some tasks to complete at this stage.   If you happened to hear Dr. Carlo DiClemente (co-developer of the Stages of Change) on ChangeTalk Radio (hyperlink here) discussing the Stages of Change, you might remember his discussion on the Stages:  that everyone goes through these same stages whenever they make a change in their life.  What’s unique to each of us is how we chose to accomplish these tasks.  So, let’s get you started!  As usual, if you get stuck or would like to discuss your ideas for change with one of us, we’ll be happy to provide some suggestions or just listen.  Sometimes that’s all it takes to get going!

Ready? Set? Go!

At this phase, it’s helpful to continue to evaluate yourself in these four (4) areas:

1. Your desire to make this change
2. Your confidence that you can make this change
3. Your personal reasons for making this change (for instance, you want to wake up with more energy in the mornings)
4. Your need to make this change (outside pressure from family, employer, doctors, court, etc, suggesting you need to change – often with an “or else” attached)

For more on this, see BB

Here are the tasks related to this phase:

1.  See the new you!  Look ahead to a time after you’ve made this change.  What do you see?
   1. Keep a list of those reasons you want to make this change close (some clients have written their reasons on cards which they then laminated to carry with them all the time.  Then, when they were tempted to slip from their goal, they could pull out the card and be reminded of their own reasons for making this change).  And remember, you don’t have to want to make this change to be successful.    For instance, Dee-Dee was a single mom much of the time her son was young.  She admits making many changes in her life that she didn’t really want to make but did so for the better health of her son.  We’re sure you have changes you’ve made, too, for someone else.  That’s OK.  Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise as research tells us you just need ‘good enough’ reasons – good enough for you!
   2. Look to the future not the past.  Don’t tell or listen to ‘war stories’ (you know, those stories about how exciting your past behavior was)! This can actually increase your anxiety about making a change in your life and can dramatically lower your motivation.  And at this point, you’ve worked really hard to keep motivated!
   3. Stay away from people, places, and things that remind you of the behavior you’re trying to change.  This might include not drinking coffee first thing in the morning if that’s when you always had your first cigarette, or changing the music you used to listen to whenever you drank heavily.  This may be only a temporary adjustment; only you can make that determination.  These are decisions we’ll discuss in the next phase.
   4. Be mindful!  Change is hard (if it were easy, no one would need help ever) but it is possible.  One of the most important strategies in making successful change is being mindful of the change you want to make.  Think about it often.  Make it at least one of the top 2 or 3 things in your life right now.
   5. Be ready to make tough choices.  Change sometimes requires we make difficult decisions.  We all have competing priorities:  things that compete for our attention, our resources, our heart.  This is a place many people don’t prepare well enough for and, as a result, they become frustrated or depressed and quit.  If you begin to feel this way, please reach out for help: send us an email (core@aa2.org) or contact someone in your Support Circle.
   6. Make a commitment and be prepared for the anxiety.
      1. Set a date
      2. Make it public (as much as you’re comfortable)
      3. Take small steps.  This means the change may take a bit longer but research shows you’re more likely to be successful than if you try to take a proverbial elevator!
      4. Create your own Personal Action Plan for Successful Change by going to BB (?)

So, am I ready to Go?

Self-Assessment

1= Never      2=Seldom        3=Occasionally         4=Often            5=Repeatedly

1. I tell myself it’s my decision to change or not.
2. I tell myself I have inner strengths that will help me make this change.
3. I make promises to myself not to let my behavior(s) get in the way of making this change successfully.
4. I tell myself that if I try hard enough and in the right way for me, I can successfully change my behavior.

Score:  ________

A score of 14 or more means you’re likely ready to put your Personal Plan for Successful Change into action.  A score below 14 likely means it would be helpful to continue your work in this phase to strengthen your Personal Plan before you put it into action.  Remember, our goal is for you to be successful, not to make changes before you’re ready!

Change Experts’ Suggestions:

If your score was more than 14, we suggest you go to [insert] in the Club.  If your score was 10 or less, try [insert] also inside the Club.  If you get stuck, feel free to send us a note at core@aa2.org.  We’ll respond within 48 hours.