When it comes to behavioral change – quitting a bad habit or sustaining a good one – there are four stages that everyone goes through. Actually, only the people who succeed at changing go through all the stages. Most people get stuck at Stage 2. And that’s bad news because Stage 2 is most definitely not a fun place to be. Trust me, I spent a loooong time there.… Read More »The Four Stages of Change
Five and a half years ago, I broke my left foot. At the time, my only sources of income were waiting tables and bartending, and my primary sources of fun were hiking and skiing, so having a broken foot was a big problem. To make matters worse, it didn’t heal very quickly. In fact, it’s still not completely healed. I have persistent pain and inflammation that limit what I can… Read More »The Gift of Big Problems
“Are you closer right now to where you want to be than you were a half-hour ago?” –Robert K. Cooper The more often the answer to this question is yes, the further you’ll make it along the path of becoming better. And the answer to this question probably depends on your answer to another: Did you spend the last half-hour with your eyes on the process? In other words, were… Read More »My New Favorite Question
Another one of the cornerstones of my approach to becoming better is cultivating helpful mindsets: Many people approach self-improvement and behavioral change with profoundly unhelpful mindsets that either sabotage their efforts or prevent them from making any effort at all. So it is essential to work on shifting from these unhelpful mindsets toward beliefs and attitudes that facilitate growth and change, success and happiness. Here are some examples: When… Read More »Helpful Mindsets