Discovering Your Motivation to Change Your Health Behaviors

Are you struggling to make healthy changes in your life to address chronic health issues? Do you find yourself constantly starting new diets, supplement regimes, or workout routines, only to give up after a few weeks? It’s important to realize that making lasting changes to our health behaviors is not an easy task. However, with the help of a board-certified health coach trained in Motivational Interviewing, you can discover your motivation and take action toward a healthier lifestyle.

Understanding Motivational Interviewing

Motivation is what gets an individual to act, change, or grow. Motivational interviewing (MI) is a client-centered approach that focuses on helping individuals identify their reasons for change. It is based on the belief that people are more likely to make lasting changes if they feel motivated and have a personal desire to do so.

Coaches use various MI techniques to help their clients explore their feelings and motivations. These may include open-ended questions, reflective listening, and summarizing. The goal is to create a safe and non-judgmental space for the individual to express their thoughts and emotions.

Discovering Your Motivation

So how do you discover your motivation? It starts by understanding your values and priorities. Take some time to reflect on what is important to you in life – is it being able to keep up with your children, grandchildren, or friends? Improving your overall health? Or simply feeling more confident?

Once you have identified your values and priorities, it’s important to connect them to your health behaviors. For example, if improving your overall health is a priority, then making small changes to your diet and exercise routine can help you achieve that goal.

You can also explore any underlying reasons for wanting to make a change. Perhaps an event or milestone is coming up that has motivated you to improve your health. Or maybe you have noticed the negative effects of your current behaviors on your physical or mental well-being.

Taking Action

It is normal for individuals to have ambivalence about changing their health behaviors while at the same time desiring change. Living in the status quo is comfortable, and shaking it up can raise self-doubt, and questions as to whether change is needed, or if it is even possible.

This is where talking about change with a professional can help understand what is motivating the desire for change. MI helps to get at a person’s underlying desires, ideas, values, and reasons for change so that a person can move forward with making changes to achieve their health goals.

While motivation is key, action leads to real change. Changing your health is a journey, not a sprint. A coach can help you turn your motivation into tangible goals and create a plan for achieving them. This may involve breaking down larger goals into smaller, more manageable ones and identifying potential barriers and solutions.

Once you decide to make a change in your health behaviors, it’s important to remember that change is not always linear and setbacks may occur. In these moments, it’s helpful to revisit your motivation and remind yourself of why you started in the first place.

Conclusion

Discovering your motivation to change is a crucial step towards making lasting changes to your health behaviors. Keep in mind that change is a journey and it’s okay to seek help along the way. Don’t be afraid to reach out to a trained, board-certified health coach or therapist for support and guidance in your health journey. Through reflective practices and the support of a coach, you can gain a deeper understanding of what drives you and take action toward living a healthier life.

With the right mindset and support, you can overcome any obstacles and achieve your health goals. Remember, your health is worth investing in. So take that first step towards discovering your motivation to change! Once you begin your health journey, be patient with yourself and celebrate your progress, no matter how small!

References:

Rollnick S, Miller WR. (2023) Motivational Interviewing: Helping People Change and Grow. Fourth Edition. The Guilford Press, New York, New York.