Taking One Step at a Time
beachBODY.com

According to behavior researcher James Prochaska, Ph.D., successful change has a number of stages. In your own attempt to change your behavior to lose weight or get in shape, a slow and steady pace may get you there faster than trying to change overnight, and it will surely create a more lasting result.

Most people know what they need to do to live a healthier, more active lifestyle (eat better, get more exercise, improve flexibility/posture, etc.) So why aren’t they successfully changing their behavior to make better lifestyle choices?

According to Dr. Prochaska, contemplating a lifestyle change evolves into action after a person has given serious thought to their motivations and the strategy for achieving results. So there’s a lot of groundwork to be done before change will happen. It’s essential to develop what Dr. Prochaska calls “motivational readiness to change.”

His advice is simple: Take small steps toward the goal. Let long-term change be a gradual process, and if you have a vision of where you want to go, those small steps will get you there with less upheaval than a big jump. The results, such as feeling better about yourself, will last.