Stages of Awareness

One of the widely accepted suggestions for changing habits is to do them slowly. Don’t make radical changes to what you’re currently doing - lean into - it so that you don’t create too much discomfort, get overwhelmed & quit. But far too often, we think we’re further along than we actually are, and in the process inadvertently bite off more than we can chew. Whenever we want to change a bad habit into a better one - what that requires is a certain level of paying attention - especially if the old habit is one that we do automatically. When we’re changing our behaviors, it’s easier for our brains to fall into the unconsciousness that automatically happens when we follow the habit loop. Changing our behavior requires paying attention and focus. So it’s super common if we default to old patterns that we’ll feel like we’re pushing jello uphill - impossible. In episode 40, I’m exploring the stages of awareness & stages of competency when it comes to changing our behavior. These two models show you that mistakes, stumbles, and failures are part of the process - and if we give up, we may have been so close to lasting change.