Face Change with Courage and Confidence, with Eve

(air whooshing) (computer mouse clicks) (gentle upbeat music) Headspace Studios. (gentle upbeat music) Hello, hello, it's Eve here. Welcome back to Radio Headspace and to Thursday. We're almost at the end of the week, but you've got this. That's actually what I want to talk about today. The idea that no matter what challenges you're facing, you are capable of making change, whether it's dealing with a stressful situation at work, navigating bumps in a relationship, pursuing a big life goal, or making healthy changes in your life, you've got this. I was chatting with a friend recently who'd been recovering from a pretty bad knee injury. She'd been able to start running again after thinking it would never be possible. The key thing for her was starting really small. At first, it was just five minutes a day. Then she gradually built it up and she can now do 5K pretty easily. Real meaningful change is possible, but it doesn't happen overnight. That's the hard bit. It takes time, patience, and perhaps, most importantly, belief in yourself. In yesterday's episode, I talked about this fixing mode, this urge to want to fix, give advice, or offer solutions when someone is struggling. A mental health coach is not there to provide all the answers, and they are certainly not there to offer advice or to fix you. It's actually about empowering you to take ownership of your journey. That's where the magic happens, because it's your life and only you knows what feels right for you. You are an expert on you. However, we won't always be ready to jump in and make big changes all at once. Being ready to make a change plays a really important role, and there's a model called the stages of change, which describes how we move through different phases when we're trying to change a behavior or start something new. I remember thinking I would never be able to quit my job in advertising. It felt too scary to make a big change like that, but I did, and I know the stages of change sounds quite technical, but I think it's helpful to understand and I'll walk you through them. So first, there's the pre-contemplation stage where you might not even be thinking about making a change. Then you move into what's called contemplation, where you start to consider the possibility of making a change. After that, there's preparation, where you begin to plan to make a change, which is then followed by taking action, where you actively make the change. And then finally, there's maintenance, where you work to keep that change going. I think it's helpful to know where you are in this cycle because it can help you set realistic expectations for yourself. If you are in the contemplation stage, you don't have to put pressure on yourself to be taking action just yet. And starting small is 100% okay. In fact, it's encouraged. Each stage is important and valuable...