Foresight, Midsight, Hindsight: A Formula for Sustainable Change.

What is sustainable change?

I believe it’s when we are able to cultivate a new habit, a novel way of being or doing, and maintain that long term. We might find this very easy to do for some habits, for example finding an alternative route to work and sticking to it, or deciding to wake up 15 minutes earlier each day. However, larger changes, those that test our beliefs and conditioning at a much deeper level, can be far more challenging.

One of the methods that I encourage coaching clients to follow is called “Foresight, Midsight, Hindsight”. Although the way in which this is used can vary considerably from one person to another, here are some general guidelines:

Hindsight

We begin with Hindsight first in order to understand what our usual pattern is and how we’d like it to be different.
Let’s use the example of Greg, who wanted to reduce his car use.

Reflection and Contemplation – At first, Greg realised that he hadn’t really given his car use much thought, that it was a habit that was well established and ingrained. He found it quite painful to tot up his petrol bills and his carbon emissions for a typical month. However, this exercise gave him the opportunity to formulate a goal to work towards and he decided on a 50% reduction of both within 3 months.

Forgiveness – Initially, Greg was quite self-critical at not having tackled this issue before and at having put on weight due to using his car rather than walking. However, simply through expressing his disappointments, he soon turned this attitude around to forgiveness for himself and a resolve to make his plan work.

Wisdom and Insight – Greg became more aware of the alternatives to using his car, or indeed of taking some journeys at all. We discussed his reasons for using his car and how he’d like to re-prioritise certain aspects of his life, particularly his health.

Celebration and gratitude – Gradually Greg’s attitude towards this change in habit transformed from seeing it as an insurmountable problem over which he had little control, to regarding it as an opportunity for self-empowerment, to express his authenticity and to reclaim respect for his wellbeing.

Foresight

Vision – With Greg’s new found enthusiasm for this project, he allowed himself the freedom of his imagination. He then easily expressed his vision for how and when he wanted to travel.

Planning – He set himself the task of gathering information on walking routes to the bus and train station that took less than 10 minutes, downloading bus and train timetables from the internet for easy access and blocking out extra time in his diary for travelling. There was also a new travel budget to consider, and Greg researched travel passes and train ticket options that reduced his costs. He investigated cycle routes and bike/train/bus combinations.

He also listed useful and enjoyable tasks that he could carry out on a bus or train and gave himself permission to enjoy his walks and to walk leisurely. He identified people with whom he could share lifts for most of the remaining car journeys where other options were not suitable.

Intention – Greg wanted to find a way of reminding himself to set an intention for travel on each day. He felt this was important to prevent him slipping back towards his old car-dominated habits. He found an image that conveyed the concept well for him and put copies of it where he did most of his planning – by his computer and in the shower room!

Midsight

Presence – Awareness of our actions, in the moment, is a crucial step in embracing and maintaining a new habit. This was the part that Greg found most challenging.  With encouragement and support in the coaching, he began to understand how his thoughts preceded his actions and how he sometimes sabotaged his efforts by thinking that what he was trying to do was crazy or impossible. As time went by, he cultivated the ability to watch his thoughts and to develop more constructive ways of talking to himself that supported his efforts to change his travel habits.

Acceptance – Some of Greg’s journeys did not go at all according to his plans! He was filled with anger and despair at times, mainly aimed at other road users, local authorities, bus and train companies. It could be a very frustrating business! However, he soon realised that he could start to accept some situations as they arose and that the mental calm that resulted helped him to make wiser decisions in the moment.

Enjoyment – There were some journeys that Greg found totally delightful, very enjoyable and a fruitful contribution to his day.

Enthusiasm – And some walks and cycle rides came to light that Greg decided to indulge in for pure pleasure and relaxation.

I’ve presented the concept of Foresight, Midsight, Hindsight as a linear process here when actually it’s cyclical. For best effect, we repeat this cycle many times over in order to refine and embed our new habit. To begin with, Greg viewed each day using Hindsight, forgiving himself for his transgressions and using the lessons learned to tweak his planning. As his new travel habit became embedded, he quietly celebrated his successes and expressed his gratitude for his renewed self-confidence and sense of wellbeing.