‘’I know what I need to change – but I need to move ‘from need to norm’.’’

So spoke a client I was working with.

If you know what you need to change, kudos to you – that already takes a good deal of self-awareness and acceptance.

But turning it into reality is usually the tough part: Moving from intention to daily integration.

One way to make that transition easier is by working across three levels: Counting on yourself, enlisting supporters, and moulding your environment as best you can.

1.      Self: Create Your Rituals

Make It Unavoidable

If you want to reach your workplace on time, lay everything out the night before. Or if you want to exercise every morning, hang your workout gear on the bedroom door.

Make whatever you need to set yourself up for success glaringly unavoidable.

Start the Ball Rolling

If you believe starting the day by drinking two glasses of water is a healthy habit, but dislike the practice, start with a few sips and build it up.

Or if you promised yourself you’d start the day with a walk, take the first step of putting on your trainers to propel you forward.

See It

See yourself doing or being whatever it is you want to do or be.

If you’re worried about tough conversations, prep and visualize yourself engaging constructively at each stage of the conversation.

You could also see yourself as ‘it’. If you want to be a better facilitator of meetings, visualize yourself being the facilitator – that’s what you are. How are you showing up and what are you doing before, during and after the meeting?

And keep at ‘it’.

Schedule It

Consistency creates new norms.

Can you schedule the practice? It’s 7:30am – that means workout. It’s 1pm – that means lunch with my team. It’s 6pm – that means it’s ‘reflect and plan for tomorrow’ time.

Track It

In whatever way works for you, can you track whether you tried today to move towards the new norm – or didn’t? Maybe it’s your own WhatsApp group, or an excel sheet, or a journal.

Note the effort you made – and how you felt afterwards.

And be kind to yourself.

Very rarely does someone create a norm in just one day. I know I don’t – but I just scroll through my WhatsApp messages to myself and see the evidence that I can get back on track.

2. Supporters: Build Your Circle

Even personal change is rarely a solo act. Think about the who, when, and how of support.

• Who can keep you accountable without judgment?
• When do you need a cheerleader, a gentle nudge or a slightly more forceful ‘holding to account’?
• How do you like to be supported – texts, quick chats, shared goals? Ask your supporters for what you need.

Support isn’t just about motivation, it’s about having someone who reminds you of your “why” and your “how” when your ‘’what am I doing!?’’ gets hard.

3. Environment: Set the Scene

Your surroundings silently shape your behavior. What can you control to keep you on course?

Want to focus?

Don’t fight distractions – remove them.

• Use a meeting room or cafe to break the routine of a distracting workspace.
• Keep only what you need within reach; hide the rest.
• Change your digital environment. Turn off notifications, or use apps that block social media during focus time.

Want to remain calm?

• Place an object or pin a quote on your desk – something that you can turn to easily and is an immediate reminder of the benefit of staying calm.

Want to get fitter?

• What’s in your fridge? Remove the derailers from sight – and better still, from ‘site’.
• Meanwhile, keep the weights and exercise mat close by.

Moving from recognizing the need to change to making that change the norm is a process.

Some of the things I’ve shared may work for you some of the time, but not all of the time – and they may simply just not work for you ever.

Keep experimenting – you’ll find a way!