Change Is Hard

A friend sent me recent article from the Washington Post on change, based on a journal paper from the American Academy of Family Physicians.  The "Stages of Change" model describes five stages that people go through before making a successful change in behavior:

1. Precontemplation--no desire to change
2. Contemplation--ambivalent about change
3. Preparation--experiment with small changes
4. Action--purposeful action towards change
5. Maintenance and Relapse Prevention--incorporating the new behavior into daily life, with some recycling through the previous stages, before change is permanent

I won't go into the details of each stage here.

What I am noticing is that change is hard. I've stayed in the Contemplation stage for years before moving to the Preparation and Action stage (e.g., getting into a fitness routine).

I'm also struck by how I see people in these different stages as a coach. People will contact me with an interest coaching to help them make a change in their life. It may be another year (or more) before they actually move into action. My own intuition that people will know when they are ready is a good one. There is no rushing change, is there?