Structuring Happiness in 8 Steps (2)

STEP 5: Empower Broad-based Action and Remove Barriers

Unleash yourself to do your best to achieve your vision. To bring about the changes which will bring happiness, you might be required to do things which you have not done before (or are uncomfortable doing them). You have to move out of the comfort zone and develop ease for those activities. Work and acquire the necessary skills. Update yourself regularly on the required tools.

Remove as many barriers as possible which obstruct you from bringing about the change you want. These could be in the form of time consuming activities which are hardly of any consequence like watching television, purposeless surfing on the net, etc. If your network of friends or relationships do not support the changes you want change have an honest dialogue with them and if required change your interactions with them.


STEP 6: Generate Short-term Wins

If your plans for a change require significant and/or long term effort, short-term wins (related to your strategy to change) are essential. Short term wins must be both visible and unambiguous. These short-term achievements provide positive feedback, increase motivation and help build up momentum. They also provide feedback to help you fine tune your vision. Savouring success would make you eager for more in a more efficient way.

Short term achievements are usually the result of careful planning and effort. Although you may see changes as you implement your strategy to change you have to identify the achievement milestones.

STEP 7: Don't Let Up (Consolidate Gains and Produce More Change)

As you start savouring victory there might be a tendency to relax, celebrate and take a break. This may result in your losing critical momentum resulting into regression. Once regression sets in, rebuilding momentum is a daunting task.

Continue removing the undesired behaviours. At each victory instead of relaxing reinvigorate with more changes in accordance with your vision and let more activities reflect the changed behaviour.

STEP 8: Make Change Stick (Anchoring New Approaches in the Culture)

To prevent resistance from re-asserting itself, the new behaviours must be diligently practiced to make them natural to you. The new practices must grow deep roots in order to become firmly planted, spontaneous and strong enough to replace old patterns of behaving.