Preparing for Change and Creating your Personal Roadmap
Preparing for Change
There are some steps you need to take to prepare for change:
Accept the reality of the situation
Laser-like focus – marshal your resources
Reach out for support
Turn down your stress response
Feel what you are feeling
Once you have accepted practically and emotionally the need for change you need to start preparing for the next stage. We recommend that you use the four-step process outlined below.
Step 1 – Make a Decision
Clearly articulate the change that you are going to make:
I will get a new job in 2025
I will run a marathon in 2026
I will develop my skills with online learning
Make your decision as specific as possible.
Check your commitment to this decision, and if you feel any ambivalence or uncertainty spend some more time thinking about what you REALLY want.
Step 2 – Visualise the Future and Create Your Road Map
To create your own Personal Roadmap we would recommend you use the Best Possible Self intervention. This tool was developed by Laura King (2001) and was designed for participants to write about themselves in the future, imagining that everything has worked out in the best possible way. This is a tool used in positive psychology which has good research support and people tend to find the intervention beneficial.
The Best Possible Self process is simple but effective.
Choose your time period
Take some time to select the future time period in which the change will happen (1 month, 1 year, 5 years etc.)
Visualise
Now imagine and visualise that you have achieved that change that you identified in Step 1 (above) and you are expressing your best possible self strongly.
Take time to make this visualisation vivid and interesting. Imagine that you have worked incredibly hard to achieve the goals that you have set and in doing this you have achieved your full potential.
Don’t fantasise, create a vividly imagined future where your best self has delivered realistic goals and achievements.
Capture the Detail
Now spend ten to fifteen minutes writing down the details of what you have visualised. You are looking to turn your visualisation into a logical and coherent plan. Focus on:
The way you avoided obstacles on the way
What you did
What you stopped doing
The character strengths that you will need to display to achieve your goals (this might help)
The milestones on the way
Now that you have your plan you need to EXECUTE it. The next two steps will keep you on track as you move towards your change goals.
Step 3 – Keep Going
Achieving change goals requires persistence, resilience and continual commitment to the decision that you have made. Increasing your resilience takes time and intentionality. We know that neuroplasticity is the capacity to ‘rewire’ our brains, and we can do this to build resilience. Develop new thought patterns by building on your visualisation exercise, focus on your character strengths and how you avoided obstacles to keep your momentum. Build resilience by focussing on four core components:
Connection
Wellness
Healthy thinking and
Meaning.
The American Psychological Association (APA) has some helpful guidance on how to build resilience here.
Step 4 – Celebrate Victories
The journey may be tough but celebrate every victory and achievement as you move towards your goal. This reminds us that we are making progress and can keep us motivated and strong as we face the inevitable challenges of the change journey.
Would you like us to run a workshop or team event to explore these ideas? Get in touch.
