The positive change cycle

Have you ever made a positive change you're really excited about, only to have your momentum and enthusiasm start to flag as you discover that it's harder than you think? Well, rather than throw your hands up and ask, "What's the point," keep in mind that it just might be a natural part of the positive change progression.

Here's a page that outlines the positive change cycle, from the heady first rush of a positive change through to a version that will stick for the long term. It describes four stages of positive change:

Uninformed optimism: This is the rose-colored glasses honeymoon stage.

Informed pessimism: You reach this stage when you realize, "Hang on, this is harder than I thought! As the article puts it, "the rose-tinted glasses start to fade as the untidiness of reality starts to bite."

Informed optimism: You start to adapt and adjust to the fact that the reality of change isn't as neat and tidy as the fantasy of change, and you start to get a more realistic sense of optimism.

Completion: You've incorporated the change into your life in a long-term, sustainable way.

Too often, people step out into a positive change and get discouraged when they get blindsided by the informed pessimism stage. But when you realize that often that is part of a cycle that takes it from the realm of fantasy to the realm of reality, it can be easier to stick with it and not get discouraged.

Next time you find yourself getting frustrated that a change isn't as smooth and easy as anticipated, ask yourself, is this just reaching a state of informed pessimism? What am I learning here? How can I incorporate that and move into the informed optimism stage?

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Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM