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'Tis the season of resolution trashing. I heard on the radio the three most frequent New Year's resolutions are to quit smoking, to lose weight and to exercise more. This didn't surprise me and I'm sure it comes as no surprise to you. What it tells me is, in general, 1) people know smoking isn't the greatest of lifestyle choices - in terms of health, 2) they would like to be slimmer and 3) they know exercising is probably a good lifestyle choice - in terms of health.
I'm also sure this comes as no surprise to most readers. So what do you need me for? This is a good question. I ask this of myself frequently. Over the past few years, I have been involved with or have directed a number of programs and seminars geared toward lifestyle change in three Canadian cities. By and large, these have included an exercise and a nutrition component (the latter always offered by a dietician). Until recently, I was usually the exercise leader as well as the motivational speaker. Now I'm pretty much just the motivational speaker. Why? Because my lifestyle, and the inherent constraints and responsibilities, don't allow me to be involved in as many things as I would like to be and I know the same is true for everyone else. We all have to make choices. One of the questions that drives my involvement with these various programs and my related research is how we go about making those choices.
Most people think lifestyle change is a good idea. An analogy I often use (which is still related to lifestyle) pertains to money. Most people can think of some large or small financial change they would like to make such as saving more money, spending less money or contributing to RRSPs. When a person decides to invest in a RRSP, she or he usually thinks about how much money can be contributed on a monthly basis. The person generally doesn't make a plan to not spend any money at all for three months (I mean not on rent or mortgage, not on groceries, not on entertainment), and make the full contribution as fast as possible and then go back to life as usual. Most people would think this a bad idea (that is, not paying rent tends to have some negative consequences) or even silly.
However, this is precisely what we do with lifestyle change. I'm sure many of you have seen the signs on the bus stops on the way to campus: "30 pounds, 30 dollars, 30 days." Or even better: "... all the weight you can lose for $30." There's a so-called "diet industry" completely geared toward this type of thinking and created to keep most of us buying "diet" products and memberships at fitness clubs. Thus, it seems, most people aren't interested in "realistic lifestyle change" at all, at least not until they have become convinced that all the "miracle cures" won't work.
I have two kinds of evidence for my observation. First, when I tell people lifestyle change is hard and it will take a long time, most of them never come back to my programs. Second, the ones who stay tell me "they were ready for this." So, how do we get to this point? It is generally about this time that I begin to wonder about being a "motivational" speaker, because I seem to spend most of my time slowing people down and warning them with reality checks. I firmly believe this is important, based on feedback principles.
If you are doing something you value for a valued outcome and it seems to be working, it's motivational. You do what you like and you get what you want so you do it again. If, however, you are doing something you hate and you're not getting what you want, it's discouraging. So you stop. That's where I think a program helps. You need to know everyone thinks these changes are difficult and everyone has to wait for the outcomes. One of the adjustments to be made is in deciding what the outcomes are and how fast they will be achieved.
Going back to my analogy, there are two things to consider. First, what constitutes "rent" and "groceries" from a lifestyle perspective? The mainstays - the things we all have to do and the things that keep us well. Just as there would be consequences for not paying rent for three months, there will be consequences for not eating for three months (or eating only coconut and lentils or another single food). Similarly, there will be consequences for exercising incessantly for several sessions after having not exercised at all for, let's say, 10 years. Small adjustments have to be made. We have to become accustomed to change. If we took all our spare cash and dropped it into an RRSP - as much as this would be a good step toward a secure future - we would feel impoverished in the present. When we decide never to eat chocolate or drink coffee or beer again, we tend to feel a bit deprived. Which brings us back to the "rent" and "groceries" issue. You need to know what keeps you going.
Second, once these mainstays have been accounted for, what's left over? Where can change be made? What is the "size" of the room for change? This should give a good indication of how long it will take to realize the desired effect. I recommend starting with time. Make an HONEST schedule and see what's left over. I suspect not much. I have seldom run into many people who have regularly occurring blocks of time where they literally have nothing to do. Remember to include your favorite TV shows, for example (although we can work with this). No cheating. Then pick out one time slot in this "left over" time that's not too inconvenient and try to build in ONE 20 to 30 minute walk per week. It's okay if it's at the mall. It's probably better at the mall because it will be more interesting and warmer.
This strategy, however, might require a re-examination of your RRSP plans. But life is like that.
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