Embracing the Change Process Pt. 3/3: Step 5: Maintenance
Happy Monday!
I hope you have been enjoying my little mini-series on embracing the change process.
Today, we’ll dive into part 3, Step 5: Maintenance, and I’ll share some highlights of my personal life below my educational offering for today.
Embracing the Change Process Pt. 3/3: Step 5: Maintenance
Today, I move our understanding of the change process one step forward to the maintenance phase.
The maintenance phase of change emerges when we’ve consciously participated in choosing what we want in support of our dreams/goals/objectives frequently enough that our choices reflect unconscious competency; we no longer have to “think” about choosing the new behavior, it is our natural expression.
When we are in transition from “action” to “maintenance”, and even while in the maintenance phase, there are a number of challenges that can arise.
If we aren’t prepared for the process, we can, and often do, find ourselves making the same complaints about others and ourselves…Groundhog Day can come again…
To help maximize the likelihood of a successful maintenance phase in the change process – to change for good, I share commentary on the following key points:
1. The importance of commitment in the maintenance phase, and the importance of “love” and “clarity” in the process. I revisit the importance of Dream A, B, C’s, and the importance of clearly defined 4 Doctor core-values.
2. I explain how addiction can be a problem in the maintenance phase of change.
I define addiction as: Any repeated act that does not produce the results you want.
3. I then go onto describe what is referred to as a “habit loop”. This information is available to you in the excellent little book titled “Switch”, by Chip and Dan Heath.
Here I share some methods for overcoming addictive tendencies as a means of staying more congruent with your dream and values.
4. My next topic is how to recognize our pain as our teacher. I share a method I developed and use in my own life effectively.
5. I finish by reasserting the importance of our dream, and our core values.
Suggested Resources:
1. The 1-2-3-4 Of Overcoming Addiction, Obesity and Disease – MP3 Audio + Workbook
3. PPS Lesson 2: Self Management
4. PPS Lesson 1: Determining Your Legacy! Or the First Step Program
5. The Last 4 Doctors You’ll Ever Need
I was recently visiting a friend and when I came out to my car, this amazing grasshopper was snuggled up tight to the antenna on my car. This guy was the size of a small breakfast sausage link! I really thought this was cool. I spent several minutes chatting with this amazing grasshopper.
I was later driving my car, reflecting on how this interaction with an insect had done something inside me. I had found it so natural to appreciate it’s beauty, and to be grateful that each creature in nature offers a very unique mode of support to the whole of nature, including us.
With those thoughts came a wave of sadness. The realization that such a huge percentage of humanity is dangerously detached from nature.
We are at a time when most of the forests and creatures of the world could disappear, and as long as the fast food joints and soda fountains kept running along with junk TV, hardly anyone would notice a thing!
I found the joy inspired by the grasshopper was as though a wave-of-yin, out of which a wave of yang (sadness of the awareness of separation) rose in me.
I had learned a powerful lesson about Love from a grasshopper; are our children and youth in the right schoolrooms?
PERSONALLY I’ve been feeling great lately.
I’ve been enjoying myself in my off time with a variety of things from studying quantum physics and how the quantum paradigm offers a new context of meaning for almost every aspect of our lives relative to the materialist model, and antiquated religious models.
My workouts have been a mix of free weight training, rock lifting, and even some hill climbing with kettlebells in my hands. Not for the light hearted .
My wife is doing great with her flying lessons, and should have her pilot’s license any day now. It’s great to see all the joy bubbling through her when she comes home from flying lessons. She’s so cute, and she gets this amazing sparkle in her eye when she’s telling me about the scary parts, or some of her touch-n-go experiences.
We recently started a new garden bed. We were excited to use the compost we’ve cultivated in the last year. It’s amazing how much food we can get from a small area!
Farming at home is very cool and I can’t recommend it enough!
I hope you all have a lovely day!
Love and chi,
Paul Chek
Written by - Paul