1.5: Behavioral Change Plans

Creating a Personal Wellness Program

Developing a successful personal wellness program can help you create lasting change. This section will outline five essential steps for developing a comprehensive plan that supports your personal wellness goals.

Step 1: Choose a Behavior

A balanced approach to wellness involves considering the nine dimensions of wellness: physical, emotional, intellectual, social, spiritual, environmental, occupational, financial, and cultural. Reflect on how these dimensions are present in your life, and how your behaviors affect each one, positively or negatively. Choosing a behavior to change is a personal decision, but focusing on one that either builds on your strengths or addresses your weaknesses can yield meaningful results.

Examples of Target Behaviors
To give you an idea, here are some examples of behaviors that can significantly improve various aspects of wellness:

• Physical Wellness: Quitting smoking, starting a regular exercise routine, and making healthier food choices.
• Emotional Wellness: Practicing mindfulness, getting quality sleep, and addressing procrastination habits.
• Social Wellness: Making time to connect with friends, joining a new group or activity, and improving communication skills.
• Financial Wellness: Creating a budget, setting up a savings plan, and cutting unnecessary expenses.

Step 2: Monitor Your Behavior

A crucial step in changing any behavior is to observe and monitor it. By keeping a journal, you can capture real-time information about your behavior, helping you identify patterns, triggers, and influences that impact your actions. Monitoring your behavior provides a clear picture of when, where, and why it occurs, giving you valuable insights that will guide your plan for change.

Journaling Your Behavior
As you track your behavior, record as much detail as possible. The more complete your notes, the easier it will be to see trends and make meaningful adjustments. Use the following prompts as a guide for your journaling:

• What specific behavior are you monitoring?
• When and for how long did it occur? Note the time and duration.
• Where did it occur? Identify the environment or setting.
• What else were you doing at the time? Record any activities that led to the behavior or happened simultaneously.
• Who were you with, and how did they influence you? Note whether others were present and if they impacted your behavior.
• What were your thoughts and feelings? Reflect on what you were thinking and feeling before, during, and after the behavior.

Tracking this information for at least a week, ideally two will provide you with a well-rounded understanding of your behavior and its context. By capturing these patterns, you’ll be able to pinpoint what factors encourage or discourage the behavior and gain insights for the next step: analyzing and addressing these influences.

Step 3: Analyze Your Behavior

After monitoring your behavior, the next step is to analyze what you’ve recorded to uncover patterns, triggers, and influences. This analysis helps you understand why the behavior occurs and what factors cause it.

Consider the following questions as you review your journal:

• What activities precede your target behavior?

  • Think about what actions or circumstances may set the stage for the behavior. Is it part of a routine, or does it occur in response to specific events? For example, you may notice that sleeping in leads to skipping meal prep, resulting in choosing fast food later in the day.

• What environmental cues prompt your behavior?

  • Environmental triggers, like specific locations, times of day, or social settings, can influence behaviors. Identify any cues that make you more likely to engage in the behavior. For example, you might find you only smoke when you’re with a certain friend or in a specific setting.

• How does this behavior make you feel?

  • Consider your emotions before, during, and after engaging in the behavior. Do you feel stressed, relieved, or satisfied? Understanding emotional patterns can reveal whether the behavior serves as a coping mechanism or provides a sense of reward.

Analyzing your behavior provides clarity on what leads you toward or away from your goals. With this understanding, you’ll be better prepared to establish targeted goals and create an actionable plan.

Step 4: Set SMART Goals

Creating effective goals involves making them SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Based. SMART goals help ensure you’re setting yourself up for success by clearly defining what you want to achieve, why it’s achievable, and when it can happen.

• S - Specific:
  Make your goals as clear and precise as possible. Define exactly what you want to accomplish. For example, instead of "I should call my parents more often," try "I will call my parents once a week."

• M - Measurable:
  Consider setting a numeric value or specific outcome that indicates success. For example, instead of "I want to get stronger," try "I want to be able to lift 10 more pounds on the bench press."

• A - Attainable:
  Choose goals that are challenging but achievable. Setting an attainable goal means considering factors like your current schedule, resources, and level of commitment. For example, if you are trying to save money, saving $500 in a month may not be possible, but saving $100 each month for the next five months could be attainable.

• R - Realistic:
  Ensure your goal aligns with your current lifestyle and allows flexibility for unexpected events. For instance, instead of quitting smoking right away, reducing your smoking over the next few months until you no longer smoke may be more practical.

• T - Time-Based:
  Give yourself a deadline for reaching your goal. Time frames add urgency and help you stay focused. Specify a time limit, like “By the end of the semester” or “In the next six weeks,” to keep yourself accountable and motivated.

SMART Goal Template
To help structure your goals, use the following template:
“By (specific date), I want to (increase, decrease, or maintain) my (specific component of health) by (quantified amount).”

Example:
“By the start of the fall semester, I want to increase my VO2max by 5 mL/kg/min.”

Step 5: Develop a Plan of Action

Creating a clear, actionable plan is essential for supporting your behavioral change. Consider the following points as you build your plan:

• Identify Necessary Resources
  List any tools, information, or support you’ll need. For example, if your goal is to improve your fitness, you may need access to a fitness center and appropriate workout clothes.

• Change your Environment
  Adjusting your surroundings can make it easier to stick to your goals. For instance, if you procrastinate while studying at home, consider studying at the library instead.

• Incorporate Visual Cues
  Use visual cues to remind you of your goals, such as placing healthy snacks in easily accessible locations, like on your kitchen counter or desk. Conversely, remove visual cues that tempt you to stray from your goals, like throwing away junk food or hiding it out of sight.

• Control Influences
  Identify external influences that affect your behavior. Consider the people in your life who encourage or discourage certain actions. For example, if you want to quit drinking but have friends who pressure you, it may be helpful to spend less time with them or communicate your goal of quitting.

• Manage Emotional States
  Reflect on emotional triggers that lead to unhealthy behaviors. If stress causes you to smoke, develop alternative coping strategies, such as deep breathing exercises, engaging in physical activity, or practicing mindfulness.

• Plan for Rewards
  Build in small rewards for reaching intermediate milestones and a larger reward for achieving your final goal. Rewards could be anything from a night out with friends to a new book or a fitness gadget.

• Engage a Support System
  Involve friends, family, or accountability partners who can support your progress. A workout buddy, for example, can make exercising more enjoyable and hold you accountable.

• Anticipate Challenges
  Think through potential barriers and brainstorm solutions in advance. If lack of time is a concern, create a detailed schedule and stick to it.

This approach will help you create a well-structured plan that keeps you motivated, addresses obstacles, and provides a strong foundation for lasting change.

Citations: 

• OpenAI. (2024). Creating a Personal Wellness Program: Steps for Lasting Behavioral Change. Retrieved from ChatGPT, November 4, 2024.
• Fahey, T. D., Insel, P. M., & Roth, W. T. (2024). Fit & well: Core concepts and labs in physical fitness and wellness: Evergreen release (pp. W-1 – W-3). New York, NY: McGraw Hill. Modified for educational purposes.