Sustaining Your Results for Change That Sticks: Two Scenarios

You’ve developed a vision of what success looks like. You’ve come up with a plan to get there, and you’ve even anticipated potential obstacles and how you’ll overcome them. Maybe you’ve even started on your journey toward change—nice work!

Now remember: life changes and challenges come up. Here are a couple of examples of how to overcome short-term and long-term challenges so they don’t derail your progress.

Scenario 1: Planning to Quit Smoking

You’ve decided to quit smoking, but your friends at work all smoke. When you take a break together, it’s very difficult for you to overcome the continual temptation to light a cigarette. You need to come up with a solution for this short-term problem, so you encourage one of your friends to quit smoking with you. Together, you decide to take a walk around the building instead of congregating with the smokers outside.

Now imagine that you’ve kicked the habit and have been doing really well, but then work throws you a big curve ball of stress. Plan to anticipate this stress by developing a list of things you can reach for instead of a pack of cigarettes, whether it’s a bag of sunflower seeds, chewing gum, or even your running shoes to get out of the office for a few moments.

Scenario 2: Sticking to Healthy Eating Habits

You’ve got big plans to change the way you eat, but your spouse does the grocery shopping and doesn’t want to go along with your new eating habits. You decide to make a list for your spouse to make it easier for them to shop and show your appreciation for their support.

Now imagine you’ve had a good few months of eating well, but a vacation looms. All the foods you’ve been avoiding are now easily available and threaten to throw you right back into old eating habits. Instead of giving in, you plan to shop for your staples once you arrive at your destination. Having good choices at the hotel room can make it easier to resist poor ones at the dinner table. It can also save you money!

Sustaining your results is easier if you come up with a plan on how to tackle challenges you may face once life gets tough. For personalized support sustaining your goals long-term, contact TiPS today.