By Clinical Psychologist, Sarit Swisa
This is a question that I think inevitably many people are faced with at one time or another during their lives. The fear that change simply isn’t possible could arise for example, for that person who has been ‘planning’ to lose weight summer after summer and it just seems a most elusive goal as the years go by. It could be a real despairing point for someone who has been trying hard to control his/her anger and then just loses it in one unthinking moment of lashing out. It could be when you promise to be more careful with your money, only to look in horror at the indulgent purchases on your bank statement. Do these examples tell us to give up – are we lumped with these unmotivated, impulsive, forgetful traits forever?
At the same time, there are rows of books at the bookstore on people who have successfully overcome some of the worst habits, personal difficulties and pathologies. What are we to make of this? We do ultimately all change. None of us are as we were a few years ago – the tricky part is whether we expect magical changes to occur or whether we are committed to putting in effort to our personal growth and improvement.
Change is possible but one needs to be realistic about how to go about this. Here are some suggestions for working on a personal habit/characteristic that you’d like to see shift.
Sometimes understanding what the particular impediments to your growth are, are also a step in allowing change into your life. This may be helpful to discuss with a friend, confidante or therapist.
I hope that these few tips will serve you well! Book a psychotherapy session me at PsychMatters Centre™ to assist you in your own personal growth journey.