Moving from Intention to Action, Part 3
Make no mistake - behavior change is possible.
It is possible to identify our best hopes for wellness and create plans to make them a reality.
It is possible to experiment with new behaviors to create new habits and routines.
It is possible to navigate challenges with a focus on learning and growth.
It is possible to build support and accountability for creating our envisioned best life.
Yes - behavior change is undeniably complicated and hard. It involves much more than simply deciding to adopt a new behavior. Identifying, beginning, and maintaining new behaviors - especially those that are unfamiliar and dramatically different - requires more than raw commitment and willpower. Our biology and bodies crave equilibrium, which often means that it is easier to stay the same than to change.
Introducing and building new habits to create our own best wellness requires thinking differently about behavior change. We have to leverage proven techniques to be effective and take small steps along the way. In doing so, behavior change becomes possible, especially armed with the right tools and mindset.
For the past two months, we have looked at a sequence of strategies to build sustainable behavior changes for wellness. We started with setting intentions and then built meaningful goals. For the last part of this series, we are exploring two additional evidence-based strategies for creating the behavior changes we desire - monitoring progress and celebrating success.
Monitoring Progress & Celebrating Successes for Behavior Change
It is probably no surprise that progress monitoring is an effective tool for creating behavior change. After all, how would we even recognize gains in establishing new behaviors if we are not measuring our progress along the way? According to research, frequent monitoring of progress is actually a critical component to success. On top of that, the more frequently you monitor, the greater likelihood you will succeed!
We can then combine progress monitoring with the partner strategy of celebrating success. When we recognize and own the small steps taken to creating the life we envision, we reinforce the behaviors that are helping us move towards our goals and dreams. In having pride in these small wins and accomplishments, we boost our self-confidence and self-efficacy, which motivates us to take another step and achieve even more.
Powerful stuff, right?
How does monitoring progress and celebrating success really work?
When it comes to building wellness and the behaviors that help us create the life we envision, setting intention and building goals are the first steps. However, in addition to dreaming and creating an action plan, we also have to keep an eye on progress to make sure that what we are doing lines up with what we envision. Not only do we want to be certain we are moving forward, we want to know that those steps we are taking - those new behaviors and habits - are actually going to get us where we want to go.
Imagine planning a road trip with the ultimate destination being a place you have been dying to see. Even with a fully packed car, allowing you many days to leisurely enjoy your drive, if you fail to watch the landmarks and start to head the wrong direction, you may struggle to get back on track toward your destination. Add to that - if you are only looking toward the destination, and not recognizing the awesomeness of the road trip itself, you are going to miss half the trip (or more)!
Fundamentally, monitoring progress and celebrating success have multiple purposes and benefits when it comes to behavior change, allowing these two strategies to be remarkably effective especially when combined. Monitoring progress helps us stay focused, set realistic goals, keeps us accountable, and helps us identify when there is a roadblock or challenge that needs to be overcome. Then, when we celebrate the accomplishments along the journey, we connect positive feelings with that new behavior, reinforcing motivation to stick with it, and the cycle keeps going. In this way, progress monitoring and celebrating success are important parts of how we perpetuate goals, continually propelling us forward!
How can this help us in changing behavior?
Changing behavior requires all the components we have talked about so far - setting intentions, building meaningful goals, monitoring progress, and celebrating success. By layering these strategies, using all of them combined in the pursuit of wellness, we empower ourselves to do more than just dream about wellness - we take the steps to build and attain the best life we envision.
Here are a few ideas to consider to monitor progress and celebrate success along your journey:
Find your preferred way to track and monitor progress. Apps and trackers, bullet journals, calendars, charts - there are so many ways to monitor progress! It is less about which method you choose and more about finding the method that resonates with you and that you can commit to using regularly.
Identify a system of accountability. Someone you can check in with and report out to on your progress. We are social creatures and setting up our social system to support our progress also serves to boost our inspiration to stay on track.
Explore meaningful ways to celebrate your successes. Do you like to share with your family and friends, write down accomplishments, reward yourself, or keep a gratitude journal? Any of these strategies can be effective tools to celebrate success. The act of celebrating itself can be enough to support habit formation for new behaviors.
Monitoring progress and celebrating success are the final pieces of the puzzle when it comes to building sustainable wellness. When coupled with our deep intentions and our meaningful goals, these two last strategies enable us to not only bring our visions of wellness and wellbeing to life, they allow us to recognize and honor ourselves for our commitment to living life as our best self.
How will you own your wellness today?