The Maintenance Stage of Change; How to Stay on Track Long-Term

by Suzie Booth, Counsellor/Psychotherapist (MSc. MBACP Accred.)

When we think about changing a habit or making a shift in our lives, we often imagine a clear finish line: we decide to change, we take action, and then, done! But behaviour change doesn’t actually work like that. We've contemplated the change, prepared for it and actioned it...

but, there’s another crucial stage that often gets overlooked: maintenance.

What Is the Maintenance Stage?

We enter the maintenance stage once we’ve been consistently sustaining our new behaviour for at least six months. At this point, the focus is no longer just on making the change, but on keeping it going.

Maintenance is about:

• Continued effort and commitment

• Intending to carry on, rather than slipping back into old patterns

• Preventing relapse

• Guarding against complacency

  
  

Why Complacency Is a Risk

It’s easy to relax once you’ve reached your initial goal. But that’s often when things start to unravel. The maintenance stage asks us to plan for the temptation of complacency.

One way to do this is by reminding ourselves what life was like before the change; the challenges, difficulties, or frustrations we experienced. Over time, it can be easy to forget, but keeping that memory alive helps reinforce the value of the new behaviour.

Building New Habits Takes Time

It takes a long time for new behaviours to feel natural. Think about something simple, like moving the cutlery drawer in your kitchen. For weeks, sometimes months, you’ll still go to the old drawer automatically. Even much later, if you’re tired or distracted, you might catch yourself reaching in the wrong place.

The same is true for behaviour change. Unless we keep our new routines conscious in our minds, we risk slipping back into old habits.

Understanding Relapse

Relapse is a normal part of the cycle of change. It can happen at any stage; before you’ve even started, during preparation, while taking action, or after months in maintenance.

Importantly, relapse is not failure. It’s a bump in the road, and if caught early, it doesn’t need to undo all your progress.

When relapse happens:

• Ask yourself what triggered it

• Reflect on why it happened

• Consider how you might handle it differently next time

  
  

Relapse can feel disappointing or frustrating, but it’s also an opportunity to reaffirm your goals and recommit to your change.

Returning to the Cycle

If relapse occurs, the next step isn’t to give up. Instead, rejoin the cycle at the preparation stage:

• Review what happened

• Plan for how you’ll handle similar challenges in the future

• Be patient with yourself

• Try again

  
  
  
  

The Key Takeaways

The cycle of change involves:

• Pre-contemplation

• Contemplation

• Preparation

• Action

• Maintenance

• And sometimes, relapse

  
  

The most important things to remember are:

• Plan thoroughly before making a change

• Stay alert to triggers and complacency

• Expect setbacks, but don’t see them as failure

• Learn from each round of the cycle

• Above all, don’t be too hard on yourself

Change is not a straight line; it’s a cycle. The maintenance stage is where long-term success is built, and where the real work of protecting your progress happens. If you need some help making a change then reach out to me.