How do I prepare for the changes I want to make in 2023?
As the end of 2022 draws closer it is an ideal time to reflect on what you have accomplished this past year, where you are right now in relation to desired changes that you thought about for 2022 and what you are thinking about changing for this coming year. In this way, when January 2023 arrives, you will be prepared to engage in making the changes that you desire. The month of January is named for Janus, the Roman god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time duality and doorways. Although changes can occur any time of the year, the symbolism of closing one door and opening another can be powerful and symbolic.
A useful tool to use to think about desired changes is the Health Belief Model. This model was established to better understand why people don’t adopt health strategies to improve overall wellbeing. There are six tenets of this model that we can ask ourselves when we think about and reflect what we did or did not accomplish in 2022 and what we hope to accomplish in 2023.
These tenets include:
Perceived susceptibility
Perceived severity
Perceived benefits
Perceived Barriers
Cue to action
Self-efficacy
An example of how this model can work with people who may believe that they are becoming more negative than usual is as follows:
Through reflecting on how they are presently experiencing the world, they are becoming more aware of how they are focusing on the perceived negatives around, and this has been increasingly uncomfortable for them. Realizing that they have some residue feelings from their isolation during the pandemic, they can see some of the causation to their negative feelings. (Perceived susceptibility) They also have been aware of generally negative individuals in their life, and they always vowed not to become one of them. (Perceived severity) They also know that they feel overall much better about others and themselves, when they have experienced positive feelings of connection, engagement, and tenderness. (Perceived benefits)
They have attempted to become more sensitive and kinder with others. However, they have failed to have these feelings grow and sustain. Some of the barriers to making changes around this negativity include perceiving that the entire world is feeling a sense of dread and disconnection. Spending hours on social media and either believing there is a great deal of hate and negativity being expressed and believing that the positive messages seem to be contrived and meaningless. (Perceived barriers)
Perhaps this sense of negativity has recently been acknowledged by close family members and friends. They have noticed that you seem to have lost some of your zest and that you seem to emphasize the negative within most discussions. These comments from loved ones have reinforced your discomfort with how you are presently experiencing your world. (Cue to action)
To reinforce and build a sense of kindness, this individual has decided to seek out ways to assist others. Looking back on activities that they have participated in the past, they notice that they have consistently found assisting others has resulted in enhanced feelings of connectedness and an overall positive attitude. Assisting others, such as volunteering for an organization and/or seeking out other ways to connect and engage with others, offers them the opportunity to move beyond themselves and listen to nature. (Self-efficacy)
As you take time to reflect, think about your perceived susceptibility, benefits and barriers as you move forward to 2023.
Key Takeaways
Now is the time to reflect on desired changes for 2023.
A review of the tenets of the Health Belief Model may offer you insights on how to make chosen changes.
Become aware of perceived barriers and your sense of self-efficacy.
Best Practices
In the chaos of the end of the year, take time to find the quiet in the eye of the storm.
In preparing for your 2023 accomplishments, don’t bite off more than you can chew.
Dare to change.
Things to Limit
Holding your breadth and forgetting to breathe.
Self-doubt.
Believing you’re not creative.
Quote of the Week
“You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do. If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from that person’s angle as well as from your own.”
~Henry Ford
Taking time now to think about how you want to experience 2023 and creating a mechanism for it, can inherently offer each of us the excitement of newness and the mental, physical and spiritual sense that we will deal with whatever comes our way during 2023.
Be well,
The paraDocs
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The paraDocs are Dr. Francis L. Battisti, PhD, Psychotherapist, Distinguished Psychology Professor and former Executive V.P and Chief Academic Officer and Dr. Helen E. Battisti PhD, RDN, CDN, Chief Nutrition Officer, at SpNOD, Health Promotion Specialist, Research and Clinical Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and former Assistant Professor.
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