Tara Parker Pope reported on new and very important research (for both women and anyone interested in helping individuals change their behaviors for good. )

This work Tara reports about on self-compassion is hugely important! These insights needs to be integrated much better into health care and within the health promotion and wellness industry too.

Newer research in the field of positive psychology, such as this, has a great deal to offer those of us interested in facilitating health behavior changes that can last over time.  I’ve also found in my own research with promoting sustainable exercise motivation and participation in midlife women that having self-care as the foundation for a behavior change is KEY to sustainability.

When self-loathing initiates a behavior change it readily feeds feelings of failure and contempt; things that do not often lead us to staying motivated or nurture our self-esteem.

In contrast, when self-care is the core motive for change, it permits a more flexible approach and strategy, and fuels a more positive path for the behavioral process.

Barbara Fredrickson’s Broaden and Build Theory of Positive Emotions would also support the notion that having a positive meaning for a behavior (like self-care) would broaden thinking toward it and make creative problem solving toward barriers that arise more likely than having a negative meaning for that behavior (www.positivity.com)

When I work with individuals, the first thing step is to change the motive for their behavior change to reflect an aspect of self-care. This then fuels the entire behavioral process. It’s amazing to witness and participate in!