For close to a month you will keep looking at the left wrist automatically. After that you will start to look at the right wrist first and eventually you will hardly remember ever having worn your watch on the left. You can use this principle as you plan small changes for your health and you will find that with effort for just one month into the New Year you can make a big difference to your health. This theory holds that in order to make change, you need to determine which stage you are in, and once determined, make a change in that stage before progressing to the next stage. People may be in this stage because they are uninformed or under informed about the consequences of their behavior, or they are very attached to the behavior for some reason or they may have tried to change a number of times and have become demoralized about their abilities to change.
Contemplation is the stage in which people intend to change within the next six months.
They are now aware of the pros of changing but are also acutely aware of the cons. This can produce profound ambivalence that can keep people stuck in this stage for long periods of time. They are not ready for traditional action-oriented programs. Preparation is the stage in which people intend to take action in the immediate future, usually measured as the next month. They typically have already taken some significant action in the past year.