Got a plan? Don't ditch it!

Why do we resist change?

It's quite a familiar tale - we've all done it, set a goal or promised ourselves that change is coming.
Somewhere along the way, something interrupts our plans and we just don't hit that goal. Why?

What's going wrong?

Setting goals can be intimidating. Sometimes we have grand plans and might be setting ourselves up for a fall if that goal isn't realisitc enough. Over complicating our plans like this can often lead to limitations of our success. This sort of resistance is known as the Terrible Toos:

Too big: Grand gestures, overblown plans, ambitious ideas - all of these can put simple lifestyle changes out of reach for most people. Smaller changes actually have a bigger impact on our everyday lives and provide us with stepping stones to a substantial change!
The good news is that breaking your goals down into smaller managable steps can increase your motivation and chances of success.

Too tired: Change is tiring; even more so if that change has proven too difficult for you to succeed previously.
Small wins keep us motivated and increase our enthusiasm for continuing our journey.

Too comfortable: We all love a familiar routine, so when we are settled and life is ticking along it's so much harder to shake things up and introduce something new. Even if our goal has a shiny and exciting outcome, we might be easily drawn back to the habits that we know and love.
But, with good planning, bad habits can be easy to break - it just takes practice!

Ref: Starr K R, Householder L. Why we resist: The surprising truths about motivating behavior change. New York, NY: Syneos Health; 2019

What can we do?

Take bite size chunks
There is nothing more intimidating than a huge goal looming ahead of you. Even when you are fiercly motivated to achieve it, we all know that the route to success is never straightforward. So make sure you plug in lots of micro planning along the way. Forming links between everyday tasks and reaching your goal is a really good place to start. For instance:

I will drink a glass of water as I wait for the kettle to boil when I get up in the morning.

This is a habitual behaviour - boiling the kettle to make a cup of tea and can easily be linked to a new behaviour of drinking a full glass of water to get the day started.

Remembering why you are making the change
What's at the forefront of your motivation for change? If you can articulate the reason why you are setting a goal, and then verbalise it to a friend or family member you are much more likely to commit.

The more we share our intentions the more we focus on why we want to change, plus there is someone who is then interested in hearing the progress we are making!

Habit mapping
Often our habits begin with a signal that triggers a routine which ultimately ends in reward. Can you think of a situation like this? For instance:

Cue: The children walk in the door from school at 3pm

Routine: The kettle is switched on, a pot of tea is made, I reach for the biscuit tin for them and I have a couple of biscuits myself

Reward: A break from work, a drink and a snack

This is a formed pattern but one that can be altered by switching an element within the routine and trying it out for size. Switch the biscuits for a healthier alternative for everyone, or make the 'break' the reward and listen to a favourite song.

Recognising where those patterns in our day are is another great step to making changes that stick.

Take your next step to LiveWell

We're here for your health and wellbeing. Want to make a change? Register or contact us today to take your next step to LiveWell.

How does this work?

The tailored approach LiveWell Dorset uses to come up with solutions to the things that are stopping us achieving our goals, is based upon work done by University College London developing the COM-B model of behaviour change. In this model, all behaviour is influenced by understanding a person’s capability to change, their opportunity to change and their motivation to change. By understanding which of these is the biggest barrier to change, we can tailor support accordingly. This model of behaviour change is at the centre of the support we offer, online and in person.

Your Favourites?

Welcome!

Is this the first time that you've used our services, or have you already registered with us? To allow us to best serve you, please confirm whether you're new to LiveWell Dorset, or if you've spoken to us before and may have an existing account.

Welcome back, it's good to hear from you again!

To speak to one of our dedicated team and get the help you require please request a call back. All call backs from this service are free of charge to both landlines and mobile.

Request a Call Back

Do you provide your consent to share your information with the LiveWell Dorset team – part of Public Health Dorset ?

When you register with LiveWell Dorset, we ask you some questions about you and your health (how much you smoke, how active you are, how much you drink and how much you weigh). We store that information and use it to shape our service offer to you – such as the advice we give or the extra services we connect you to. The only people who will see this information will be those involved in the delivery of the service and management of the data. If you would like to use extra services (such as slimming clubs and pharmacies) we have to share this information with them. For us to be able to put you in touch with these services, we must have your consent to share that information with the service (we’ll ask for that later, when if you sign up for extra services).

Before we can sign you up any further, we need to know:

You're happy for your personal information to be shared with LiveWell Dorset.
You understand what information may be shared and why, and that at times, our contact to you may be supported by technology partners, who have the same data protection standards and safeguards as we do
You acknowledge that you can withdraw your consent at any time by informing LiveWell Dorset.
You understand that if you do not give consent or withdraw consent then it could be difficult for us to connect you some of the services we offer.

If you require any more information to help you make your choice then please contact the LiveWell Dorset team on 0800 840 1628. All telephone conversations at LiveWell Dorset are recorded for quality and training purposes, and stored whilst you are registered as active within the service.

Yes I consent

Sorry we can't continue at the moment

Unfortunately we need your permission to store your personal information to help us to assess the best support we could provide or signpost you to. If at any stage you change your mind and are happy to provide your personal information please come back and visit us again.