What is Behavioural Change Coaching?

During our lives, changes inevitably take place. These may be brought about by circumstance or a desire to enhance or improve ourselves or our quality of life.These may be brought about by circumstance or a desire to enhance or improve ourselves or our quality of life. This might be starting a new exercise routine, improving sleep quality, changing eating habits, addressing mental health, or just engaging in a new activity. Initially, when we decide to start something new, we feel very motivated to do it. Often, we dive straight in without really considering why, how, and what we need to do to get there. Unfortunately, this approach can leave us feeling like we are not making headway, we don’t see changes quickly enough and can start to feel frustrated and demotivated.

From my own experience, I’ve seen many people sign up for yoga classes in January and show up with their new mat and brand new clothes only to never see them again by the end of the month. It’s the classic New Year’s resolution scenario we all hear of, and perhaps, easily relate to. So why does this happen? 

Many times we look at the ultimate goal, imagining what the end might look like. By doing so, we might ignore the stages in between. If our goal is to play guitar for example, then that will likely take a lot of time, patience, and steps before we can actually play the song we want to. However, without considering the necessary steps, after a week or two of painful fingers and making a lot of noise, we might decide that “Playing guitar is more difficult than I thought” or “I’ll never be able to play the Taylor Swift song I like.” and pretty soon we just give up. Unfortunately, we say “This new behaviour is not for me.” Instead, we should think “My approach to this behaviour is not for me.”

Behavioural change coaching looks at the bigger goals and helps to break them down into more accessible, attainable and importantly, appropriate for the individual wanting to make a change. This includes considering factors such as lifestyles, abilities, current and past attempts at behavioural change, and support available from friends, families, and co-workers. 

Understanding why someone wants to start a new behaviour, what their daily routines look like, exploring when they can incorporate new habits, and how best to make it work with them, is an important foundation when beginning something new. By considering the individual mindset, ability, and available time, we can use various methods that tap into the psychology of behavioural change.

Making changes is difficult. There’s no doubting that it takes effort and determination to build new habits. Some days can be more challenging than others. Creating more specific and manageable steps towards a goal makes it easier to notice improvements, however small and can help us maintain motivation. Accepting that we have days where things don’t go right or we skip a day does not mean it’s all over. Realising we are human and making plans to adapt to those occasions or being kind to ourselves and understanding that is part of the journey might be all it takes to stick with it. When we break it down, that big goal is usually not what we first thought and before we know it we establish behaviours that bring us fulfilment and a sense of achievement.

Cultivating a path that works with your own lifestyle means you are more likely to enjoy the process and successfully make the changes you want to.