I know I can be what I want to be. We're going home with Sarah and Tennille. Sarah. Hey, Fran.
How are you? That's motivational, isn't it? It is. I like those words.
That is Nas, the rapper, with I Can. And in that particular song, he's got a lot of cute kids that are very talented. And they're saying, I know I can be what I want to be. And we need that attitude for 2022.
Yes, we do. I think we can use that very much right now. Oh, really? Because I tell you what, a lot of people are trying to change some things about themselves.
And they do every year, right? In the new year. Right. It's January.
So that's a common theme for a lot of people. Change is what we're doing. And so the question comes to mind, can I really change my habits? You know, change is hard.
And it's also, for a lot of people, they're just very resistant to it because what we know is comfortable. Yeah, we've been doing it so long a certain way. Whatever it is. I'm putting it in air quotes.
We've been doing it that way for so long. Well, I have come up on something that I just love. I'm going to warn you, Sarah. We're going to be deep today.
We don't get deep, deep. We're going to get deep, deep. And I'm going to have to credit our friend, Jessena Taylor Mason. And she is in Knoxville.
She works for UT. But she gave a presentation years ago. I can't even tell you how long ago it's been on this particular thing we're going to talk about today. And it stuck with me all this time.
So shout out to Jessica. Because we're going to talk about something called the trans-theoretical model. You see how smart I am? You are.
And you're right. We are going deep. That's a big word. It's a big word.
But it's called TTM for short. TTM for short. And it's like the most widely used model that they use in health psychology. This is according to Harvard University.
There's a lot of smart folks up there, okay? And what this particular thing does, it predicts or explains a person's success in achieving a behavioral change, okay? And this can be any behavior that's related to health. So if I want to stop smoking or eat healthier or exercise, whatever it is you want to do, this TTM can help you do it.
Okay. Well, I'm curious to learn more and to share this information with our listeners. Because it sounds like really valuable information. Yes, but you and I have been talking about this.
So I'm going to give out the stages, just the names of the stages. Then you and I are going to quickly go through. We're going to actually give some examples so that our listeners can see how this can actually work into your real life. So the stages are pre-contemplation.
Oh, another big word. Contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance. Okay. I'm in.
I know you're in the void. It all sounds good, but can sound overwhelming. So I think breaking it down for our listeners will be good. It's not.
Because you and I are going to take two simple concepts and two things that are real popular New Year's resolutions or goals. Let's do like eating more fruits and which one you can do? I think I'll tackle exercise. Maybe you're trying to start walking.
Okay. All right. Eating more fruit, which we know is healthy, and walking, which we know is healthy. Okay.
So the first stage is pre-contemplation. Pre-contemplation. So this is where most of us are. Let's be real, right?
Yeah. Let's be real. We're not considering the change. I mean, we're really unmotivated.
This is where we spend most of our time. Not taking any real steps. We even want to avoid talking about this issue or thoughts about it. Any information, we don't want to know.
How does that sound? Okay. I mean, I can totally relate to this about some things I need to change. Okay.
So take my fruits, for example. Pre-contemplation. I ain't worried about fruits. I want a snack on my candy bars or my chips or whatever.
I speed up a little bit when I go to the produce section at the grocery store. I don't even want to look at the fruit because I'm just not there yet. Okay. Well, I think for walking, it's like I'm basically sedentary, hanging out on the couch.
Don't even know where my tennis shoes are. Sounds familiar to me. Yeah. Yeah.
I'm not. It's not on my radar. Yeah. Okay.
So pre-contemplation. We've all hung out there for a long time. Now, Sarah, our next stage is contemplation. So talk a little bit about that.
We went from pre, now we're at contemplation. What are we going to do? Yeah. When we get to contemplation, we're actually going to start thinking about the problem.
Oh, so I'm not going to actually eat the fruit. I'm thinking about the fruit. You're thinking about it. Yes.
You know, you have become aware of the negative consequences of the habit that you are currently, you know, doing. You may still kind of be on the fence about trying to change or do something different. Because I like what I'm doing, right? Right.
It's comfortable. You feel good about it. You know, and when you're at the contemplation stage, you probably are kind of telling yourself, you know, I think I can deal with this in six months or so. Okay.
It's going to be six months to buy those apples, huh? Okay. Okay. So, yeah.
So when I'm contemplating, I'm thinking about eating more fruit. You said I'm aware of the negative consequences. Okay. So I might know that I might be damaging my health by not including fruits in my diet.
Right? That's right. And I can be the same for not walking or exercising. I know that I'm not doing this to be harming me more.
Okay. Okay. So, okay. We did the pre, then the contemplation, now preparation.
Okay. Now I'm at the point where something's got to be done. This is a real thing that I'm dealing with. Okay.
At this point, you start doing research, you're gathering your information. You may even be talking to people, whether it's other people about it or professionals, if it's something that you think you're going to get a professional involved, and you are planning to act within the month. Okay. I see this as far as the walking aspect.
I may be actually going to purchase some new tennis shoes or looking for walking tracks in my community or finding out if there's an exercise group that I can join. Yeah. You're making some phone calls or, you know, you're scoping things out. And, you know, I don't know how much scoping things out it takes to eat fruit, but you really know it's serious and, you know, you don't really need to talk to other people.
Maybe I might mention to you that, you know, Sarah, I think I need to start eating more fruit. What kind of fruit does your family enjoy? So kind of just collecting some information and you may say, well, mine likes to have fresh pineapple and cut it up. And I think, oh, I've never tried that.
You know, you may just start gaining some ideas from talking to others. That's right. So, you know, we're trying for me. It's kind of like you're making your plan.
What are you going to do? Yeah, yeah. So now it's time for action. I feel like we're going to move to action.
So what do you do here? This is exciting. This is, when you get to the action part, you are actually making the change. You're making steps forward.
Maybe literally. You're walking. You are making steps to change your situation. You know, you really, truly believe that you have the ability to make the change.
You know, at this point, when you're ready for action, you are open to seeking help. You are glad to receive support from people. You'll need willpower to continue. That's often where we get lost.
Yes, that's right. And that may be part of your preparation. You know, what am I going to do on those days? I don't want to do this.
You know, you might include some short-term rewards for yourself. And it's important to remember that your action stage is usually three to six months. But we also have to remember that it's easy to relapse in this phase. Well, three to six months is a long time to do this new thing.
You know, to keep coming up with fruits to eat or to keep going for walks, you know, when you don't feel like going. That's right. But we're trying to create a new habit. Habits don't happen overnight.
Right. Yeah, you're absolutely right. So once we get our action going, we move into the maintenance phase. Once we've been doing it, you said that's like three to six months.
After we were still doing it six months later and for up to years, it's a maintenance phase. It's just basically keeping it going. Our life is adjusted so that we don't relapse. We make preparations in advance if there are going to be barriers.
And, you know, basically this is where we can remind ourselves of the progress that we've already made. Now, that's not to say that there's not going to be temptation at the maintenance phase because there is. There's always going to be temptation. Of course.
But, you know, we usually can resist once we get to maintenance. So, you know, okay, thinking about my fruits. You know, the habit's going. I've been improved.
My life is adjusted to avoid relapse. What does that mean? Well, I keep fresh fruit in the house. I don't keep some of the other things that I might choose instead of the fruit.
And making preparations in advance. I really like that because sometimes we're in situations where there may not be fruit available. You know, if we're traveling or something like that. This is where we have to bring things along.
You know, bring fruit along so that I don't fall off the wagon if that's my goal. Yeah, I agree because, you know, if you're out and about and you've got to get a drive there, you need to have a plan for that. How are you going to, you know, handle that? Yeah, yeah.
I think it's also important when you're in your maintenance phase to continue to have somebody that you can call when you're having a moment of weakness. Your don't jump moment. Yeah, it's like, you know, people are a person that you can be real with. Yeah.
I think that's important for sure. You need that. And you already talked about rewarding ourselves when we make those small steps. And that's important, you know, in whatever way that feels fulfilling to us that doesn't cause guilt, we want to reward ourselves.
So, you know, this is a heavy thing, but I think that this change is something we need to discuss and know that it's possible. And one thing, Sarah, to remember, even if we get to the maintenance stage, there are still times when you fall off the wagon. Oh, gosh, yes, that's just life. We're not striving for perfection here.
Well, you can strive if you want to, but. Allow yourself to not make it. But, yeah. I think just being conscious that a change may need to occur that will benefit you long term.
Yes. You know, it's the first step. And that goes back to that contemplation and then going from there and just taking it one step at a time. Yes, one step at a time.
So the question we posed at the beginning is, can I really change my habits? Hmm. Well, I think the answer is yes. I think the answer is yes, too.
But it may not be just easy. It's not a light switch. Right. It's not going to be overnight.
Right. So whatever your action is, just remember the words of Nas and these kids in our intro song. He says, I know I can be what I want to be if I work hard at it. That's important.
The work and hard work. That's exactly right. Hard work is key. So I think you've got something special coming up this week.
I do. My wedding anniversary is Friday. Happy anniversary, Sarah and Josh. Thank you.
That's wonderful. We are excited. 16 years. You're a winter bride.
You had a whole wedding day, didn't you? But it's a good thing. And I don't have to contemplate anything about our marriage. There you go.
We don't have to go wrong steps. But then, you know, we love each other and we just try to keep it, you know, that way. You're in maintenance right now. You're not in pre-contemplation or any of these others.
So you're in maintenance, which is a good place to be after all these years of marriage. So happy anniversary. Thank you all for joining us for this episode. In the words of Mr.
Bob Marley, do the like you love. And love you like you live. Bye-bye.