Any type of change in human behavior involves resistance. This is because one has to go outside of his comfort zone. Such changes aren’t always welcomed easily by the unconscious since they obviously require more effort to cope well with these new situations. However, that is the only way to effect positive change. Change has never been considered as something easy to accomplish.
In spite of this, change is essential in all aspects of life if improvement is to occur. And if we intend to get ahead in life or relationships, we can’t remain stagnant. Change is an inevitable part of life.
The same is true with how people behave. At any point, certain behaviors will not be appropriate anymore and will require changes in order to continue to improve yourself or cope with your changing circustances. Change may be difficult but it is not an impossibility.
The good thing, though, with any change is that once the resistance stage is over, the person feels liberated and empowered because he was able to conquer something for the sake of self-improvement. The path was difficult but it made him a better person so it was worth all the effort.
Self-improvement is indeed a complicated task. First, one has to identify what it is that he really wants to change. From there, certain strategies may be necessary. An analysis also of the context and circumstances of life may be required to be able to know better how to modify the behaviors involved.
Behavior is indeed one of the points of target when trying to improve oneself. This is so because a great amount of self-control is necessary in regulating other aspects of life. This is especially the case if one is targeting improvements in the way he relates with other people.
For instance, a person loses patience easily and tends to become hot-headed even with petty things. Self-improvement may begin here by changing how he reacts to petty things that used to annoy him. He may try to learn how to put it aside as soon as he feels it is already starting to get to his nerves. He may also learn how to channel his annoyance to something more productive like painting or writing a poem. With this example, it can be clearly seen that trying to improve one aspect involves modification of several behaviors.
This explains why counselors normally advice the preparation first of a self-improvement plan. It is often easier to implement changes if one knows exactly where he is heading. The plan doesn’t have to be very exact as it should still leave some room for flexibility. A self-improvement plan gives proper context to behavior modification. It may also be a basis in the future if the modified behavior is to really lead to self-improvement.