The contemplation stage is the second of five stages in the Transtheoretical Model of Change, where a person recognizes a problem behavior and seriously considers changing it within the next six months but hasn’t committed to action yet. The defining feature of this stage is ambivalence: you know you need to change, but you’re not sure you’re ready.
Where Contemplation Fits in the Stages of Change
The Transtheoretical Model, developed by psychologists James Prochaska and Carlo DiClemente, describes behavior change not as a single decision but as a process that unfolds across five stages: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance. Each stage reflects a different level of readiness.
In precontemplation, a person doesn’t see a problem at all or has no intention of changing. The shift into contemplation happens when they cross a psychological threshold: they acknowledge the problem exists. That acknowledgment doesn’t mean they’re ready to act. It means they’re thinking about it, weighing what change would cost them against what it might give them. The next stage, preparation, begins when the scales tip and the person starts making concrete plans.
What Contemplation Actually Looks and Sounds Like
People in the contemplation stage often express themselves in “yes, but” statements. A smoker might say, “I know I should quit, but I really do enjoy smoking. I’ve got to quit, but with all the stresses in my life right now, I don’t know if I can.” Someone who wants to start exercising might acknowledge the health benefits while listing barriers like time, expense, or fear of failure. The intent is real, but so is the resistance.
This isn’t indecision in the casual sense. It’s a genuine internal conflict. Giving up a behavior you’ve relied on, whether it’s smoking, overeating, or being sedentary, creates a sense of loss even when you understand the benefits of stopping. The person simultaneously wants to change and doesn’t want to. That tension is the hallmark of this stage.
It’s also not unusual for people to spend years here. The six-month timeframe is a general clinical marker (people in this stage typically intend to change within the next six months), but in practice, many cycle through contemplation repeatedly before progressing.
The Psychology of Ambivalence
Two psychological mechanisms drive what happens during contemplation: decisional balance and self-efficacy.
Decisional balance is the internal weighing of pros and cons. People in earlier stages, including contemplation, tend to perceive the barriers of change as outweighing the benefits. A person considering quitting smoking might focus on how cigarettes manage their stress and social connections, while the health benefits of quitting feel abstract or distant. Progress through this stage involves gradually shifting that balance so the reasons to change start to feel more compelling than the reasons not to.
Self-efficacy, your confidence in your own ability to make the change, plays an equally important role. Research has found a strong statistical relationship between a person’s stage of change and their confidence level. People in the contemplation stage tend to have low confidence that they can successfully change, which reinforces the ambivalence. If you don’t believe you can quit smoking or stick with an exercise routine, the perceived costs of trying (and failing) feel higher. Building confidence, even in small ways, helps people move forward.
How People Move Through This Stage
Because contemplation is defined by ambivalence, the most effective approach isn’t pressure or persuasion. It’s helping a person explore their own conflicting feelings without judgment. In clinical settings, this often takes the form of motivational interviewing, a conversational technique built on the idea that accepting ambivalence as normal, rather than fighting it, actually facilitates change.
Practically, this looks like reflecting someone’s own words back to them. If a person says they enjoy smoking but want to quit, a helpful response might be: “Sounds like you’re caught in a bind. On one hand, it helps with stress. On the other hand, you know it’s hurting your health.” This kind of reflection isn’t about convincing. It’s about helping the person hear their own reasoning more clearly, which makes it easier for them to resolve the conflict on their own terms.
Other strategies that support movement through contemplation include examining the specific barriers that feel most daunting (time, cost, fear, past failures), identifying personal strengths that could support the change, and simply leaving the door open. Phrases like “when the time is right for you, I’m here to help” acknowledge that the person isn’t ready yet without suggesting they’ll never be.
Why Getting Stuck Here Is Common
Contemplation is sometimes called the stage where people get “stuck” because the ambivalence can be self-reinforcing. You recognize the problem, which creates discomfort. But you also recognize the difficulty of changing, which creates a different kind of discomfort. The easiest short-term solution is to keep thinking about it without acting, which provides the illusion of progress without the risk of failure.
This is especially true for behaviors that serve a psychological function. Smoking manages anxiety. Overeating provides comfort. A sedentary routine avoids the discomfort of exertion. The behavior isn’t just a habit; it’s a coping mechanism. Changing it means finding a replacement, which requires both motivation and confidence, the two things that are lowest during this stage.
Understanding that contemplation is a legitimate, necessary part of the process can itself be helpful. Change doesn’t happen because someone decides once to be different. It happens because they sit with the discomfort of ambivalence long enough for their internal balance to shift. Recognizing where you are in that process is the first step toward moving through it.