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Personal Health and Wellness (Individual)

Meet Maria. She's a fictional individual living a generally sedentary lifestyle, who becomes aware of certain health risks after a particularly informative doctor's visit. Read how Maria plans for a healthier lifestyle, begins exercising and eating well, and eventually integrates these habits into her daily routine to make significant and sustainable changes to her physical and emotional health and wellness.

The Status Quo

Mild Resistance to Change due to Lack of Awareness

Maria, a 35-year-old office worker, has a sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy eating habits. She is generally comfortable with her existing lifestyle choices and seemingly unaware of the impact that these sustained and constant unhealthy behaviors can have on the quality of her life as well as the lives of those around her.

Try It!

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Think about the comfort and convenience of your current lifestyle and consider how long-term health risks can negatively affect you and your family, friends, or coworkers, impacting your various personal and professional relationships.

Remain Mildly Resistant to making a Change.

Increase Resistance to making a Change.

Shift to the Next Stage of Readiness for Change.

How can Motivational Interviewing help in this stage of change?

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Exploring Perceptions: Maria can explore her current lifestyle and its impacts through reflective conversations or self-dialogue to consider how her sedentary habits and unhealthy eating might be affecting her well-being. For instance, she might be encouraged to think about recent health symptoms or feedback from others, potentially helping her to see the connection between her lifestyle and potential health risks to herself and important relationships in her life right now.

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​Visualizing Future Benefits: If Maria is open to imagining a future where she adopts healthier habits and experiences 

positive outcomes, this can make the idea of change feel more desirable and help to shift her perspective toward one that may be open to weighing the pros and cons of making a change (once the need for change is acknowledged).​

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The goal at this stage is to emphasize self-awareness that there may be a need for some change related to behaviors that may be causing harm to oneself or others, and not necessarily that the change needs to happen anytime soon. This becomes a critical distinction with individuals with deep-rooted beliefs contradicting a proposed change in a particular habit or mindset. 

Change Introduced

Try It!

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Reflect on which aspects of your current lifestyle may be negatively affecting your social and professional life. List benefits of changing these aspects and contrast them with drawbacks of making changes.

Uncertainty via Reasonable Reservations 

After a routine check-up, Maria's doctor informs her about the risks associated with her current lifestyle and how these risks can affect social and professional communities. Maria considers the benefits of a few specific lifestyle changes but still feels overwhelmed and unsure about changing habits that have otherwise served her well this far.

How can Motivational Interviewing help in this stage of change?

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Understanding Ambivalence: In this stage, Maria is considering the benefits of adopting a healthier lifestyle but feels overwhelmed. MI techniques can help her explore her feelings and uncertainties. By engaging in a conversation with herself or a coach, she can articulate the pros and cons of making the change, which helps clarify her motivation.

Eliciting Self-Motivational Statements: Maria can use MI to identify and articulate her reasons for wanting to change. For example, she might reflect on how a healthier lifestyle could improve her energy levels or reduce health risks. This process helps strengthen her internal motivation and resolve ambivalence.

Remain Uncertain about  Reservations

Return to Strongly Resistant to Change.

Shift to the Next Stage of Readiness for Change.

Intent Initiated

Seeking Resources & Support via Intent to Act

Maria researches healthy eating plans, relevant exercise plans, and social media groups relevant to work-life balance issues. She considers tracking her meals, prices different gyms versus at-home exercise equipment, and introduces these topics into her casual conversations with friends and coworkers, including how common it is to enlist counselors and coaches as a support resource.

Try It!

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Think about your recent conversations with friends or coworkers about different kinds of behaviors. Identify who is supportive and consider reaching out to them for ongoing encouragement and advice, including when counselors or coaches are beneficial.

How can Motivational Interviewing help in this stage of change?

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Setting Goals and Planning: As Maria prepares to make changes, MI can assist her in setting realistic and specific goals. Through motivational conversations, she can break down her larger goals into manageable steps, such as choosing a meal plan or finding an exercise routine, and create an actionable plan.

Enhancing Confidence: MI helps Maria explore her confidence in her ability to make these changes. By discussing past successes and current resources, she can build self-efficacy and overcome any doubts or fears about her capability to implement the new habits.

Remain in a state of Analysis Paralysis about the Change

Return to Uncertainty and Reservations

Shift to the Next Stage of Readiness for Change.

Steps Taken

Try It!

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Jot down recent achievements related to your particular goals, such as completing a workout regimen, choosing healthier meal options, or newly set boundaries in your social and professional life - talk with a supportive friend about how these changes have helped you.

Setting Intentional Boundaries & Celebrating Progress

Maria begins with a few minor changes to her eating habits and a few daily exercises, making intentional decisions to set reasonable boundaries in her social and professional life, tracking her progress, staying motivated by celebrating short-term successes, and prioritizing supportive relationships and relevant social activities.

How can Motivational Interviewing help in this stage of change?

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Reinforcing Commitment: During this stage, MI techniques can help Maria stay focused and committed. She can regularly revisit her motivations and reasons for change, reinforcing her dedication through positive affirmations and by celebrating short-term successes.

Addressing Barriers: MI encourages Maria to explore and address any obstacles or challenges she encounters. By discussing potential barriers and brainstorming solutions, she can develop strategies to overcome setbacks and maintain her new behaviors.

Remain in a state
of simple steps

Return to Simple Steps, Analysis of Plans, or Revisit Reservations

Shift to the Next Stage of Readiness for Change.

Habits Sustained

Integrating Habits & Minimizing Setbacks

After several months, Maria finds herself integrating more healthy habits into her daily routines, continuously monitoring progress, making adjustments as needed, and consistently reflects on potential obstacles, barriers, and setbacks as her social and professional environments continue to evolve and change.

Try It!

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Consider potential challenges you might face in the near future, such as upcoming events, work stress, or changes in your schedule that may negatively affect your ability to sustain healthier habits.

How can Motivational Interviewing help in this stage of change?

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Reflecting on Progress: MI can help Maria reflect on her progress and acknowledge her achievements. Regular check-ins with herself or a coach can help her recognize the benefits of her new lifestyle, celebrate her successes, and reinforce her commitment to maintaining her habits.

Continual Improvement: MI supports Maria in identifying areas for further improvement and setting new goals. By staying open to ongoing feedback and adjusting her plan as needed, she can continue to evolve her habits and address any emerging challenges.

Remain in a New Status Quo

Return to Simple Steps, Analysis of Plans, or Revisit Reservations

Challenge this New Status Quo by revisiting these stages as an ongoing process of personal and professional self-improvement.

Common Obstacles

Try It!

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List a few common obstacles in your life that may be keeping you from making a particular change to a behavior that may be causing some degree of harm to you or to those you care about.

Normalize Growth via Recycling of Prior Stages

Busy work schedules and social commitments sometimes make it difficult to find time for exercise, leading to missed workouts. Stress and emotional triggers may prompt a desire for unhealthy foods and drinks as a form of comfort. Lack of immediate results can lead to motivation issues. Falling back to earlier stages of this narrative is a normal aspect of transformational change. However, identifying and addressing each stage of change can strengthen commitments, and I is critical to continuously reflect and adjust goals and remain open to seeking support when facing unexpected or unforeseen obstacles.

This process is rooted in a theory called the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) of behavior change.

ttm spiral (EtC).jpg
Learn more about this process and how it can help you or your organization.
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