My Personal Experience

I have recently had a high level of success with behavioural change, and while we are all not the same we have much in common and so perhaps this "technique" (well it worked for one person thats 100% result right :)).

I'll leave out the specifics, and generalise.

The first thing was the motivation to change.

The second thing was a process of getting information, and seeking professional help, more than one source of information, and more than one person, to reduce the risk of getting poor information or a dud professional.

That process was a bit of browsing here and there, but of having a plan that I wanted to have made a decision on how I was going to proceed within 4 weeks. No backing away. Whatever I had determined at that point I was going to execute (with an opportunity to learn what was working of course).

The next key points were information about what techniques and things about me worked. Say 10 or 20 things that are going to be part of the plan.

The next key point was listing where I exhibited behaviour that was not supportive of the plan, and to remove myself from that environment, by:

- Having fun things to do instead

- Letting those who I mix with know that I was on this journey

But later:

- Changing my response to stimulus that led to me exhibiting the behaviour I wanted to leave behind, and I believe this is a very important point, by finding something just as fulfilling to engage in as a result of that stimuli rather than avoid it, but that did not involve exhibiting the behaviour I did not want to exhibit.

In summary, you need the motivation, then you need to find the information, and with professionals make your own plan after giving yourself 4 weeks to contemplate what that plan can be, then you need 10 or 20 powerful simple things that seem to work, and very importantly have something that avoids the stimuli yes in the beginning but in the end reprogram your response to the stimuli to be something equally as compelling to the behaviour you want to leave behind.

Cheers,

Jack