You can’t change your bad habits… until you know this. (The Stages of Change will set you up for success.)

Your desk is a mess. Your husband can’t keep off those 15 pounds. A friend quit smoking… multiple times. A parent has a heart condition and sticks with the food and exercise regimen for only a week. Your loved one has been in rehab for substance abuse and relapses.

From minor concerns to the life-threatening, most people are not successful at permanently changing their undesirable habits. Why is that? How can you know what is healthy and productive and still not follow through?

Changing habits, and the mindsets that go with them, is hard work and takes time. There are a few remarkable people who can do it, and do it quickly. My mother-in-law decided to stop smoking one day and never picked up another cigarette. If only it were that easy… but for most of us, it’s not.

Perhaps you’ve heard that it takes 21 days to break and change a habit. How did that go? Was there permanent change? No matter what the result, it’s important to understand what happened during the days leading up to the 21-day decision. And how did you do with your New Years resolutions? Do they keep showing up, year after year (or have you just given up)?