![\"Police](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/policepsychologyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Police-Psychology-Change-2.jpg\")
<\/a>Just like life, police psychology is all about change.<\/p><\/div>\n
Police psychology<\/span> is about change (and police stress<\/span>\u00a0<\/i><\/strong>is often about dealing with change). It could be changing an officer\u2019s life, changing the behavior of a perpetrator, or choosing the officer who will go into an academy and have to deal with a lot of change. Life is full of change. Whether it is the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly, the gradual change in weather and seasons, or the growth and development of your children\u2014everything experiences change. Change is not necessarily a bad thing. Some habits you have would probably be better off if you changed them, some not. I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard your mom say, \u201cstop biting your nails\u201d too many times to count. While biting your nails may be a harmless habit that may not necessarily be deserving of change, reverting to anger every time something bad happens is definitely something that should be changed. So is procrastination<\/a>, laziness<\/a>, and eating unhealthy\u2014all habits that may seem easier and more fun to engage in, but are negatively effecting your performance, productivity, and overall well being.<\/span><\/p>\n In police psychology, we need to understand when it is time for change.<\/p><\/div>\n So how does change occur in a person? What causes people to change? I always describe a three-step process to my clients, each step building successively off the one before it. In the first stage, we think about things we\u2019ve done in the past. There is a famous saying that \u201chindsight is 20\/20.\u201d In psychology, we call this the hindsight bias. Both of these are just fancy ways of saying that we can look back on things we\u2019ve done in the past and examine why it did or didn\u2019t work for us, or what we should do differently in the future. For example, if you speak without thinking, chances are you\u2019ve gotten into trouble at some point saying something you later regretted. \u201cDid you gain some weight?\u201d \u201cYou don\u2019t look so good in that,\u201d not the best to phrases to say to a spouse when you are about to go out. In this step of the process, you reminisce on the things you did or said wrong in the past and plan what you can do or say differently next time.<\/span><\/p>\n After step one becomes second nature, the trick is to take it a step further. The next <\/span>step in the process is to stop yourself in the middle of doing something <\/span>that you now know you will regret. It may be that you stop yourself at a point that the damage is still done, but the purpose is you <\/span>need to get yourself in the habit of stopping yourself in the middle of the activity that you are trying to change. To illustrate, in step one, you may look back on half your day and realize you wasted the entire thing procrastinating all the work you needed to get done. In this stage (step 2) of the process, you stop yourself in the middle of your procrastination and begin to tackle even the smallest of things you need to get done. Voila, you have started to change the behavior.<\/span><\/p>\n Once you master this step, you move onto the final stage in the process of change: stopping yourself before you do the activity in the first place. Instead of saying \u201cDo you really want to wear that?\u201d you can say nothing at all, or say something like, \u201cI really like when you wear your red dress. I\u2019d love if you wore that tonight!\u201d This is the stage when you prevent yourself from getting irrationally angry at something that goes wrong, and yelling at everyone in sight. Or when you prevent yourself from having obsessive thoughts<\/a> about something in particular. This stage is where you have successfully changed the bad behavior. Don\u2019t give yourself a victory ribbon until you make this stage as much a habit as you made the first two. Bear in mind that the most important point of these steps is that they are a progression, a succession, and they build upon each other. Past-Middle-Future, sort of makes sense, huh?. All change must be gradual\u2014you can\u2019t go from zero to one hundred in one day. Instead, master each small step until you have succeeded in changing your behavior completely.<\/span><\/p>\n Follow me on this one. It is not complicated, but it can be very powerful.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Gary S. Aumiller, Ph.D. ABPP<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Please follow me on this blog by filling in your email address and click at left of the page at the top of the sidebar<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0Please share this with other people on your social network from down below.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0For books by Dr. Gary S. Aumiller got to http:\/\/www.myherodad.com<\/a> or http:\/\/www.myheromom.com<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Join me on Facebook or Linkedin (see sidebar).<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 If you enjoyed this tip, sign up to receive updates for more posts on the latest in police psychology.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Police Psychology | You Change Your Underwear, Don\u2019t You \u00a0 Police psychology is about change (and police stress\u00a0is often about dealing with change). It could be changing an officer\u2019s life, changing the behavior of a perpetrator, or choosing the officer who will go into an academy and have to deal with a lot of change. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17168881],"tags":[17168839,17168797,17168831],"class_list":["post-549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-change","tag-change","tag-police-psychology","tag-police-stress"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1245,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=1245","url_meta":{"origin":549,"position":0},"title":"Police Psychology | Control Freaks!","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"February 19, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology | Control Freaks! \u00a0 In police psychology, we know how to pick them out. \u201cIt's my way or the highway!\u201d they cleverly say, as if those words were ever original thoughts. Or, \u201cIf you want something done right, you have to do it yourself,\u201d more originality.\u00a0 Maybe they\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Police Stress"","block_context":{"text":"Police Stress","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168885"},"img":{"alt_text":"police psychology, control freak, police stress","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/policepsychologyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/control-3-300x171.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":386,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=386","url_meta":{"origin":549,"position":1},"title":"Police Psychology | The Police Candidate Interpretive Report","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"June 5, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Police Candidate Interpretive Report \u00a0 I had one of the first cell phones for public consumption.\u00a0 It fit in a bag.\u00a0 The battery lasted minutes not hours, and it was essentially a car phone that could be moved around.\u00a0 But visions of Dick Tracy\u2019s watch and Agent 86\u2019s shoe\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Tests"","block_context":{"text":"Tests","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168877"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":554,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=554","url_meta":{"origin":549,"position":2},"title":"Police Psychology | Locked Away in Your Cell","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"August 5, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology | Locked Away in Your Cell Police psychology has had a new enemy these days, and it's not typical ol' police stress. The Cell Phone. You ever hold your cell phone up at a concert to demand an encore? That means you are cool! Scan a document into\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mastering Emotions"","block_context":{"text":"Mastering Emotions","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17165629"},"img":{"alt_text":"Police Psychology cell phone 1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/policepsychologyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Police-Psychology-cell-phone-1-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5117,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=5117","url_meta":{"origin":549,"position":3},"title":"Police Psychology | Apocalypse or Utopia: You Decide","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"January 17, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology | Apocalypse or Utopia:\u00a0 You Decide by Gary S. Aumiller, Ph.D.\u00a0 ABPP \u00a0 I have learned a lot in my sixty years about the intricacies of the human mind.\u00a0 I have learned about intelligence, about federal politics and the criminal mind. \u00a0I have learned a lot about women,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mastering Change"","block_context":{"text":"Mastering Change","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168881"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=15","url_meta":{"origin":549,"position":4},"title":"Police Psychology | Randomness in Life","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"September 29, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology:\u00a0 Randomness in Life by Gary S. Aumiller, Ph.D.\u00a0 ABPP In police psychology, as well at other divisions within\u00a0psychology, we are always looking for innovative ways to make a point to our therapy clients that is not only memorable, but can be applied to their lives across numerous situations.\u00a0\u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mastering Resilience"","block_context":{"text":"Mastering Resilience","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168882"},"img":{"alt_text":"???????","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/policepsychologyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/coin-toss-205x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2725,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=2725","url_meta":{"origin":549,"position":5},"title":"Police Psychology | Managing Differences in a Healthy Marriage","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"June 9, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology | Managing Differences in a Healthy Marriage by Doug Gentz, Ph.D. - Tulsa, Oklahoma \u00a0 All marriages start, and in some cases, end in court houses. This is because the state of\ufb01cially recognizes marriage as a legal business partnership. The partners in a marriage, just like in any\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mastering Emotions"","block_context":{"text":"Mastering Emotions","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17165629"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/policepsychologyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/hands-shaking.jpg?fit=384%2C242&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p60sbO-8R","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=549"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":663,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549\/revisions\/663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The Process of Change<\/h2>\n
<\/a>\u00a0The Final Stage<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Three Steps to Help you Change<\/h3>\n\n