Ah, the first signs of spring: the mating calls of the birds, the blossoming of the bulbs, or, if you live at my house, the pleasant drone of the baseball announcers on the TV. But what are the first signs that you are truly changing your habit?
A small study of 66 women who wanted to lose weight provides some hints.
These women were all volunteers in a weight-loss program that started with one face-to-face session and continued with a 16-weeks Internet-based program. The women were asked to monitor themselves by completing food, weight, and exercise diaries online at least 5 days a week throughout the 16 weeks of the program.
Questionnaires revealed that about half of the women were motivated to lose weight more for their own personal reasons than because of pressure from others. These women were said to have "autonomous motivation."
The other half were motivated more by perceived outside pressures--say, from a spouse, from a doctor, or, interestingly, even from their own guilt. (As Albert Ellis once so colorfully put it, these women may have been "shoulding" all over themselves--"I should be able to do this for my family," "Dad was right--I should lose weight.") This type of motivation was called "controlled motivation."
Since no one's motivation is "pure," we all have some autonomous motivation and some controlled motivation. But when autonomous motivation dominates, success and psychological well-being are likely to be higher.
After 16 weeks, guess which women lost more weight? Yep, women with autonomous motivation. No surprise there. The power of self-chosen motivators cannot be under-estimated! By contrast, the women with controlled motivation began losing steam at week 4 and filled out fewer self-monitoring diaries.
So, how did the successful women do it? First, the successful "losers" found their own reasons for change--their motivators. These self-chosen motivators made them willing to put some work into their change. They had willingness, the first step toward willpower.
Second, this willingness led to self-monitoring. The successful women became pros at keeping track of their changes. They filled out the required food, exercise, and weight diaries at least 5 times a week. (A technician measured weight at the beginning and end of the study.) Why? When you care, you become aware.
Third--hey!--they lost weight. Specifically, they lost about 5% of their starting weight, enough to reduce their risk for specific weight-related diseases.
In a nutshell, self-chosen motivation led to self-monitoring which, in turn, led to weight loss.
How can you use this information? If you are working on a habit change, ask yourself: "What will be the first signs that I'm really changing?" You might find yourself choosing your own meaningful motivators. You might feel a new attitude of willingness. You might notice yourself monitoring your own habit behaviors. You might observe small but significant results.
Watch for the first signs that you are "springing forward." Are you noticing some green shoots emerging from the dark soil? Small though those shoots may be, you could remember that one meaning of "spring" is "coming into existence."
(c) Meg Selig
I am the author of Changepower! 37 Secrets to Habit Change Success (Routledge, 2009). For shorter takes and tidbits on habit change, motivation, willpower, and self-control, please like me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
Reference: Webber, K.H.; Tate, D.F.; Ward, D.S.; and Bowling, J.M., "Motivation and Its Relationship to Adherence to Self-monitoring and Weight Loss in a 16-week Internet Behavioral Weight Loss Intervention." Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, Volume 42, Issue 3, (May/June 2010).
