February is quickly coming to an end, and it’s the ideal time to reflect on how successful or unsuccessful we’ve been in keeping your New Year’s commitments. Unfortunately, it turns out our highly motivated desire to consume less alcohol, eat healthier foods, exercise more often, learn a new skill or, in some way, change or commit to becoming a better person was easier said than done.
Odds are this isn’t the first time we’ve become aware of a lifestyle issue potentially detrimental to our physical or mental health. Some of us may have been aware of these destructive activities for years and commit to a change only to remember our past resolutions and failures.
In most cases, the mere desire to affect a positive lifestyle change is not enough to overcome the many obstacles we encounter to achieve our goal. Some seek professional help. Others move forward, hoping their willpower and determination will be enough to overcome their perceived flaws.
So why do so many of us fail so soon after making a commitment?
One of the first stumbling blocks may be the person’s ambivalence toward making a change. The person wants to change, but isn’t fully committed, or prepared, to meet the challenges they encounter along the way. As a result, they are ambivalent about changing.
William R. Miller and Stephen Rollnick, the authors of Motivational Interviewing: Helping People Change, offer an enlightening description of ambivalence. A complete understanding of this concept and its effect on the desire for positive change may be necessary to affect any significant lifestyle modification. Ambivalence may be one of the leading reasons many New Year resolutions fail so soon after being made.
According to William Miller and Stephen Rollnick, ambivalence is realizing something is not suitable for you but desiring it simultaneously. For example, people seeking to stop consuming alcohol are aware of all its adverse effects on their bodies and want to eliminate it from their lifestyle. At the same time, they realize the enjoyment received by continuing to drink. Regardless of the additional adverse effects on their body they still enjoy the social aspect of drinking alcohol with others who are also imbibing. Ambivalence hinders positive change and can go on for many years. The results of failure are accumulative. Therefore, one has to overcome ambivalence to alter any unwanted behavior.
One must also prepare for other challenges one may meet along the way. They may want to contemplate issues that will arise to threaten relapse. They may benefit by determining how they will react to specific challenges. For example, how will they react to cravings, social events, bouts of depression, or the desire to reward themselves for an accomplishment? They must plan an effective strategy to succeed. In some situations, the person seeking change may avoid all tempting situations. This tactic may be effective in the short term, although it may cause issues when total avoidance is impossible. Above all, if the individual succumbs to temptation and relapses, they must not use this as an excuse to spend the remainder of their day excessively drinking, eating, or lacking exercise. Miller & Rollnick advise the change seeker to confront their ambivalence, choose a path to follow, and stick to their plans for positive change.
New Year’s Resolutions, commitment to positive lifestyle changes, and overcoming ambivalence are not limited to the intake of alcohol, food, or improvement in our physical fitness.
Our clients often seek to improve the methods and strategies used during their investigative interviews, especially past practices that interfered with gathering truthful and reliable information. These same investigators resolve to commit to positive change using evidence-based, proven methods in their future interviews.
There may need to be more than just a desire to change to achieve positive results. Investigators seeking change must stay committed to their goal. Outside of their own ambivalence towards change, they are likely to encounter opposition from a subject during an interview when using new techniques. If the investigator is unprepared and lacks a strategy to deal with the resistance, they may revert to past, unwanted practices leading to unreliable information and false confessions.
Changing long-lasting life habits takes work. Positive change requires desire, persistence, and the ability to overcome ambivalence. Methods used by some to overcome lifestyle issues may not work for others. Each person seeking change is a singular individual who responds to behavior modifications in their own way, based on their life experience.
As you reflect on where you stand with your recent New Year’s resolution, it’s essential to remember positive change requires commitment. I wish you good luck and much success in the coming year.
Resources: Miller, William R., and Stephen Rollnick. Motivational Interviewing: Helping People Change. 3rd ed. Guilford Press, 2013.
Thomas F. McGreal is a Certified Forensic Interviewer employed by Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates. He was previously employed by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office as an investigator in the Post Conviction / Conviction Integrity Unit. Thomas F. McGreal was also employed by the Chicago Police Department, assigned to the Detective Division.
