behavior is the collision of motivation + abilities + prompts

Wanna peek into how I coach my clients with behavior change theory to back me up?⁣⁣
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Behavior is motivation, abilities and prompts coming together at the same time. ⁣⁣
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So, if we want to encourage specific behaviors, we’ll figure out if motivation, ability and/or prompts are failing – and focus our attention on one to be more successful.

some people struggle with motivation

If that’s the case, we work on digging deeper at what the desired behavior means to them. Here are some examples of having strong, meaningful motivation:⁣⁣
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>> I want to feel great and perform well at my sport, so I consistently eat up to my calorie + macro targets⁣.
>> I want to optimize fertility and get pregnant so I eat enough nutrient rich foods to support my hormones.⁣⁣

some people struggle with ability

Some people struggle with the ability to execute the desired behavior so we work on reducing barriers or increasing the necessary skills. Here are some examples where working on abilities would be best:⁣⁣
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>> I know that getting lean + strong means I need to lift weights but I don’t have access to a gym.⁣⁣
⁣>> I think tracking macros is too difficult and time consuming because I’ve never done it before. ⁣⁣

some people struggle with prompts

Some people just need to be reminded, or prompted to execute the desired behavior so we work to set up reminders. Here are some examples of prompts:⁣⁣
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>> I set silent alarms on my phone to remind me to drink water.⁣⁣
⁣>> I always pre-log my food diary when I’m having my morning coffee.⁣⁣

Look, I’ve ALWAYS been fascinated by why some people are more challenged than others to change their health behavior. It’s never as simple as “not being motivated enough” – so quit it with that! Dig deeper! ⁣⁣
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Do you need to increase skills to make the desired behavior easier for you? Do you need to reduce barriers to make it more accessible? Do you need to remind yourself to do it? Or maybe you need a deeper, more emotion-eliciting reason to change behavior. Think about it.