Can People Change? How to Enact Change in 3 Steps

Change is growing into a person with new values, perspectives, or behavior patterns. Individual life experiences and teachings can easily inspire positive change, but change can also be challenging. By nature, change involves stepping out of comfort zones and sacrificing emotional stability. You can realize change with time, hard work, and the support of loved ones.

Human beings are capable of change, sometimes to extraordinary degrees. Personality traits, political convictions, and bad habits may be deeply ingrained, but they can change. People can gradually shift their agreeableness and conscientiousness and instill new behaviors through experiences, teachings, and therapy.

Individuals have parts of themself that are easier to change than others. For example, Person A may be able to change their level of extroversion better than Person B, but Person B may be more open to trying out self-help techniques than Person A. Core personality traits, emotional responses, and mental health disorders are aspects of human nature most difficult to change.

People are more malleable to change habits and perspectives if they feel support and care from others. Talking to loved ones or a therapist about a change you want to make is helpful. If you approach others about the prospect of change, it is essential to lead with grace and generosity. Real change takes great effort, and having a sincere, private, and loving conversation is one way both parties can take steps toward better understanding and change for the greater good.

How long it takes for someone to change depends on their desire to change and personal circumstances. Psychotherapy can help give people the tools to embody change, speeding up the process, but change is an ongoing and lifelong habit that requires continuous support.

Actual change necessitates three crucial steps: a desire to change, support for change, and reinforcement to ensure the new behavior turns into a habit.

1. 1. A desire to change: The desire to change may spring from a person’s own desire or external factors. If you want to make a change, voicing your desire to family members or loved ones is a crucial first step. To encourage change in someone else, speak directly with the person about the change you want to see and how current habits are straining a relationship and the person’s well-being. Seeing how your habits affect others is a way to spark urgency in the person’s desire to change.
2. 2. Support for change: The process of change can make a person feel vulnerable, so it is essential to have support to promote mental health. Therapy, encouraging words from loved ones, and celebrating clear markers of success are all ways to support and enable positive change.
3. 3. Sustaining change: Finally, reinforcement is vital to maintaining change. Asking people how new habits suit them and telling them how significantly they have grown act as helpful reminders reinforcing the benefits of change.

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