Whether it’s a new year, a new month, or just a new day, there’s something about a fresh start that makes us want to be the best versions of ourselves. We’re inspired to make a change, but sometimes we’re not ready. If we push on and try to make the change anyway, we may fail and think that we’re not capable of changing. That’s simply not true. In many cases, we’ve just skipped a very important part of the process– determining if we are ready for change. Check out the Decisional Balance worksheet below adapted from our 30 Days to Becoming Nicotine-free Challenge to help you decide whether you are ready to make a change. Download for a printable version of the worksheet.
When we think about making changes, most of us don’t really consider all “sides” in a complete way. Instead, we often do what we think we “should” do, avoid doing things we don’t feel like doing, or just feel confused or overwhelmed and give up thinking about it at all. Thinking through the pros and cons of both changing and not making a change is one way to help us make sure we have fully considered a possible change. This can help us to “hang on” to our plan in times of stress or temptation. Below, write in the reasons that you can think of in each of the boxes.
| Benefits/Pros | Costs/Cons | |
| Making a Change | ||
| Not Changing |