Winding down 2011
Its the time of year when reflection becomes the topic of conversation. News programs recall the most notable events of the year; entertainment shows list who we’ve lost and radio station countdown the top songs of the past 12 months. It is only appropriate that I too take a look at what has happened, celebrate, course correct and move forward. Last year at this time, I was a bit vexed because I had paid over $3000 to celebrate New Year’s in the arid air of Dubai and the trip was canceled due to the major snow event that paralyzed the east coast on the day after Christmas. My youngest sister offered to let me crash in her corporate apartment in NYC for the New Year, which was very thoughtful. Her apartment was so close to time square that we had to request permission from the police to access it during the day on New Year’s Eve. I wasn’t in the mood to celebrate, though. She and her then fiance went salsa dancing. I stayed back in the apartment, sulking, but thinking about what I needed to change.
Over the course of the next few days, I devised a list of what I didn’t like about myself and what I wanted to be different. I was successful in moving east and starting school and even surprised myself by moving forward with ideas that I have spent a lot of time talking about. The critical moment for me, I think, was taking action and giving notice at my job. Having worked in some form of behavior change for the past several years, I was familiar with lots of tricks of the trade. I first learned about the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior change when I was working on developing a program to reduce obesity. I even traveled to Rhode Island to meet with the model’s creator, Prof. James Prochaska. Outside of work, I have used the model to help me lose weight by myself. It basically stages people based on their readiness to change, and as they move towards changing their behavior, they progress through this sequence of stages. The stages are precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance and termination. The concept really works if implemented at each stage you are in. You just have to make sure that your environment is conducive to you being successful in your current stage and moves you to the next. I failed in the maintenance stage. I didn’t set up the appropriate support environment for my self to deal with a stressful boss. I shifted to prioritizing work over my own health. For this move, I think the past few years have focused on precontemplation, contemplation and preparation. I needed to get things in order to the point I was comfortable walking away from the job. Finally taking that one action has helped to change my mindset about life–these days it seems exciting! I really don’t know what to expect over the next six months to a year, but I feel like 2012 will be a good one!
I am still working on my resolutions for 2012, but will post them at the dawn of the new year!
