“All things are ready”

3-minute reading time

PREPARATION

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe” by Abraham Lincoln. Individuals in this stage appear to be ready and committed to action.

Their motivation for change is commonly mirrored by statements such as:

“I have to do something about this” or “What can I do to change this?”

This phase is also known as the research phase where individuals would gather information through reading, having open discussions or develop action plans about what they would need to do to change their behavior.

This stage represents preparation as much as determination. The next step in this stage is to make a realistic plan with ready to take action within the next 30 days. Commitment to change without appropriate skills and activities can create a fragile and incomplete action plan.

30 days challenges: As individuals it takes about 30 days to change a habit if you are focused and consistent. This is a round number and will vary from person to person and habit to habit.

Write it down: Just saying an individuals are going to change the habit is not enough of a commitment. An individuals need to write it down, on paper. Write what habit are going to change.

Make a plan: While an individuals are writing, also write down a plan. This will ensure that the individuals are really prepared. The plan should include reasons for changing, obstacles, triggers and other ways are going to make this a success.

Write down all your obstacles. If an individuals have tried this habit change before and have likely failed. Reflect on those failures and figure out what stopped from succeeding. Write down every obstacle that has happened to an individuals, and others that are likely to happen. Then write down how an individuals plan to overcome them.

Let us discuss some of the tasks that should be carried out in the HR space in helping a

preparation.

• A person in the preparation stage should first implement the 30 days challenges with their colleagues.
• Secondly, figure out the plan by having discussion with their colleagues to overcome the problems. Team discussion will bring a lot of new ideas.
• Third, increasing communication between management and employees to identifying and mitigating risks.
• Another key is making sure all managers are equipped to coach their direct reports toward commitment. One-on-one conversations help individual team members analyze how the change will affect them, determine their level of commitment and choose how they will act.

In this stage of preparation there are some steps an individual can take to improve your chances of successfully making a lasting life change. Gather as much information as can about ways to change an individual behavior.

Continue to follow us to learn more intervention strategies in the next article!

By Darnisha & Lisa