As the name suggests, Motivational Interviewing or MI helps an individual who is struggling, in finding the motivation to make the necessary changes in their lives. Concerning procrastination, it when one keeps postponing or delaying to act. And many of us have to battle with it, every day.
You could be aiming to turn your life around or hoping to make a small change. Motivational Interviewing may help you when counseling fails. In that it may set you on the right path, to search for a suitable resume statement of purpose, when you need to and not keep postponing it.
What is Motivational Interviewing?
It is a method of counseling that one to resolve their insecurities and ambivalent feelings. It guides you to see the need to change your behavior through finding the internal motivation to do so. This short-term, practical and empathetic process considers the difficulty we sometimes have in improving our lives.
The first description of MI was in 1983 by William R. Miller, who described it as a type of therapy for problem drinkers, in Behavioral Psychology. Later on, in 1995, Rollnick and Miller defined it as a style of counseling that is centered on the client that helps the client in exploring and resolving ambivalence and thus eliciting change in one’s behavior.
It evolved from the approach that Carl Roger’s adopted, to therapy and counseling, that centered on the client. The goal of this approach is twofold. One, it increases your motivation.
And secondly, it will help you to commit to the process of change. Rather than you stating the need or desire to stop procrastinating, on drafting your statement of interest for an internship, when you commit to making a change out loud, it improves your ability to do it.
The Principles of Motivational Interviewing
There is strong evidence to support the efficacy of Motivational Interviewing in helping people to change their behaviors that are problematic. I don’t know why, but every time I have to write about procrastination, I find myself procrastinating; even as I was preparing to write this.
The recommended principles and strategies in the spirit of MI include:
• Ambivalence
It is a vital concept in Motivational Interviewing. Ambivalent people are those who acknowledge that they have a problem but still feel stuck. Take procrastination, for instance, you know you have to go to the gym, but you always find reasons not to.
Or it could be that the only issue that’s pending to complete your application, is a statement of purpose for the job application, but you just can’t get it done. MI aims at helping an individual to make lasting change by resolving ambivalence.
• Empathy
To understand where the client is coming from, you need to put yourself in their shoes. It will help you understand the point of view of an individual. A therapist achieves this through reflective listening.
Once you get the person engaged, then, can you shift focus to negotiating for behavior change. You have to support the individual to find their motivation. For you, you can start by exploring the differences between the life you would like to live and the one you are living.
• Supports Self-Efficacy
At this stage, you have to determine whether you wish to make the change. You develop a plan on how to go about it, and review its progress, with time. In Motivational Interviewing, you are responsible for the choices you make.
Only your creativity can limit you in finding another plan to make a change if one does not work. Since, MI asserts, just as there many clients and problems, so are there different ways to change.
Conclusion
Motivational Interviewing creates change in the way a person makes decisions and thinks. It leads you to see how one’s current behavior may prevent them from reaching their future goals. Maybe it is sending a timely message at the right time, in my case.
It has proven effective in treating those who suffer from substance abuse. It guides you to make a plan to change that is self-directing by helping you to sift through the conflicting actions and goals that are making you ambivalent.
It is like a game of chase that learning seems simple but to get to mastery, that’s very difficult.
Eva Read is a professional writer and a content manager. She find inspiration in music, yoga and books. Her life motto is “Opportunities don’t happen. You create them.”
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