Journey
Staying on Track
When we take on big changes in our lives, we don't always get it 100% right the first time. Staying on track takes practice and learning from what has happened and having a plan for next time is what counts. That includes making sure to look after yourself too.

When we take on big changes in our lives, we don't always get it 100% right the first time. Staying on track takes practice and learning from what has happened and having a plan for next time is what counts. That includes making sure to look after yourself too.
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Changing old habits, attitudes and behaviours can feel like you’re swimming against the tide.
Just like learning new ways of doing things, staying on track takes practise too. The good news is the more this becomes your new normal the easier it gets.
We invite you to watch these short videos and consider what could be useful as you navigate the ups and downs in your own journey towards change.
Appreciation and noticing
A new operating system
Here’s some tips to keep what you’ve learnt in mind and stay on track.
Have awareness- Recognise that sometimes change can feel lonely - that's a prompt to reach out to someone you trust
- Not following the way you used to do things because it's familiar or easy
- Accept yourself and acknowledge your mistakes/past behaviour, because we all make mistakes
- Receive feedback from others
Things to do- Take a time out - remove yourself from the situation and take some deep breaths to calm yourself down
- Practise your new skills and keep them top of mind
- Plan for situations that could derail you and how you’ll manage or avoid them – role play them in your mind to practice how you want to respond
- Practise gratitude – what are the things you’re grateful for?
- Plan for the future - set SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-based) goals
- Celebrate your progress – remember the small things are important progress to
Communication- Daily check-ins with your partner, taking time to listen
- Talk with your partner, not at them
- Plan how you can share roles in your household
- Responding, not reacting
- Talk about how you're feeling
- Use respectful language
- Practise positive self-talk
- Learn how to apologise, compromise and trust
- Be honest, understanding
- Be assertive without being aggressive or passive
- Try not to minimise things or blame others when things go wrong
Support- Check-in with your support people often - keep in contact and reach out when you need to
- If you've completed a programme ask for more sessions if you need them
- Have supportive people around you, this includes people who are prepared to challenge you
- Think about how you can keep learning and growing - what information and who could support you?
- Get help for any other issues affecting you, like grief and loss if your relationship has ended
- Find or start support groups with other people on a similar journey of change too
- Share your journey with others
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Understand how your brain works and you will be more aware of how you think and act. You can try new skills and habits when you’re in the right mind-set. You can change. You just have to work at it.
Your habits and the things you do make pathways in your brain. Habits make pathways that look like superhighways. Things you’ve just learned make pathways that look like narrow dirt tracks. To form a habit, you need to do that new activity many times. You’ll turn that dirt track into a superhighway. The new habit will become part of you.
Once created, those superhighways last for as long as your new habit remains.
We invite you to watch these videos explaining how our brain works and the importance of forming helpful habits for your family’s wellbeing.
How our brain works
Family wellbeing is a habit
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Part of staying on track is about making sure you’re looking after yourself so that you’re in a good mindset to keep practising the new things you’ve learnt. When things get tough you can draw on your support system or new skills. Find some some ideas for how to look after yourself below.
Now you have some ideas for how to look after yourself, we invite you to watch this video on time in skills. Here you can consider what steps you could take to improve your relationship with yourself and others, and support family wellbeing.
Time in skills
Tools
These tools can help you put into practice what you've learnt on this page
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