OH! Magazine - Australian Version December 2013 (Australian Version) | Page 24

JUSTIN
TAMSETT

WHAT STAGE OF
CHANGE ARE YOU IN?
Justin Tamsett explains where you need to be, in order for
you to achieve permanent change.
he people who receive maximum benefit from their
membership, are the ones who want to join a gym and
join regardless of any promotion or obstacle. This is because the
first step to improving your health or wellbeing, by creating
work/life balance, is wanting to achieve it!
This is a simple thing to say and yet is a very powerful lever
for creating behaviour change.
Let’s look at Prochaska’s stages of behaviour change for why
people cannot achieve work/life balance:
• Pre-contemplation stage: Not even considering the behaviour
change as they are not ready;
• Contemplation stage: Change has now entered their mind and
they are getting ready, but not ready to start; you hear people
in this stage using the word ‘should’;
• Preparation stage: They are now ready to start and start to
tell friends they are ‘going to’ start the new behaviour;
• Action stage: As the word suggests they are doing the new
behaviour;

T

http://youtu.be/oNX-fVgcT4Q

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ISSUE 5 ( OH! MAGAZINE )

• Maintenance stage: The new behaviour is now started and
the challenge is to maintain it, so people here now need
support.
What we know is that until you are in the ‘action’ stage of
creating a change in your balance you will not be committed
to the new behaviour. We also know that to get to that stage
a significant emotional event will cause a shift or education.
If you are not in the action stage, then you are simply not
ready to create the change. And if you start, there is a good
chance you will fail as you are not quite 100 per cent
committed.
Sometimes, we are heavily influenced to jump stages and
start before our mind is truly ready. This will often lead us
into relapse as opposed to maintenance. Relapse means we
start the process all over again.
We have to be ready for the commitment in order to
successfully change. And when you are, success is imminent.
Are you ready to make a change, or are you still thinking?

www.justintamsett.com

( Work/Life Balance )