Coaching 101: Understand change

Basic coaching skills are easy to understand and apply, if you’re keen to boost the way you live and work.

As a big believer in contribution, I’ve created a series of blog posts [you can find the first instalment here] to share my evidence-based life-coaching knowledge.

So here it is, lovely people – the second instalment of Coach Yourself 101: Understand Change.

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When you’re wanting to bring about brilliant, bold, life-enhancing change it is really important to understand how change actually works.

Change involves a whole series of stages, which you travel though until you make the desired shifts. Knowing the process means that when you find yourself struggling with ambivalence or having relapsed you won’t be as likely to lose focus or motivation or self-belief and become discouraged or even worse…give up!

The Stages of Change can be seen as:

Pre-contemplation: This is when you haven’t even though about change – you’re just trundling along [and probably feeling pretty dissatisfied].

Contemplation: You’ve started to think about making some sort of change [but you’re feeling a strong sense of ambivalence – you want things to change but a big part of you also wants them to stay the same].

Preparation: You’ve decided to change [even though you aren’t 100% convinced the shift is what you really want].

Action: You’ve actually taken some action, to move you towards your desired outcome.

Maintenance: You’ve made big changes and you’re growing increasingly confident. You’re still working to avoid relapse.

Relapse: You’ve slipped back into your old behaviours. [This is a normal and expected part of the change process, it isn’t a sign that the goal is wrong or that you don’t have what it takes. You can learn from it to strengthen your future efforts.]

Exit: You’ve successfully changed your behaviour and the new way of being is now part of who and how you are.

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Understanding change as a process rather than as an event, is incredibly empowering. Knowing where you are up to in that cycle and how to transition to the next stage boosts your capacity to make great shifts happen.

Tags: career, life-coaching, Melbourne, women