Big Brother on my arm

I am temporarily (permanently) attached to a device that sits on the back of my arm and is attempting to measure my metabolism – as in desired information being calories consumed (recorded by me and testing my honesty) and calories expanded, measured by the device! Bodymedia fit make this device called a sensor armband. I am trialling this device as I see value in the information for coaches or trainers who are helping people make lifestyle changes. This is being a very interesting experience for me on many counts:

1. It is making me become very aware of what I consume, how I consume it and what influences my choices.
2. It has added yet another task to my day on the computer which I resist madly.
3. I am now really thinking about how much movement is in my life, intentional or planned.

So what have I learnt so far?

• I’m pretty active, especially since my work involves a lot of (as noted) computer work!
• I can’t sit still for very long – will find an excuse to move from my office.
• I often eat without thinking and my choices get worse when not planned ahead.
• Which then makes me realize that I am often “reactive” – to hunger, fatique, convenience, whereas I would prefer to be responsive to my brain and my body at least in choosing what I eat.
• I sleep more than I thought - despite waking several times a night I still average about 7 hours. Yay. I love sleep and am not very good without it.

If I can learn from this device, imagine what people who really do want to lose weight can learn from their movement, eating and sleep patterns! To me it seems like a very useful tool in the change process. Step number one - First establish what you do!

More later in the week when I tell you how it responds to my rather varied exercise pattern and my thoughts on whether knowing the “what” is enough to prompt action.

The Rider and the Elephant - a model for change

How many times do we start a new project or make a resolution to change our daily routine to include some healthier habits and very soon relapse back to the old way of doing things? The trouble is that nearly all of our behaviours (about 90%) is made up of habits. And changing habits takes hard work. When we coach people around improving their 'wellness' we break it down into parts of a workable model that has been shown to be effective. We need a vision, we need to identify obstacles, it helps to recognise what strengths we can bring to the process and of course we need a plan. This is easy to understand but I am always excited when I read of new ways of explaining this to people - when I find a more colourful analogy that might just capture people's interest who have grown discouraged by multiple failed attempts to 'make change stick'.

Ted and Dan Heath, in their book 'Switch' do just this. They have broken down the change process into simple concepts that are easy to picture in our minds, which in turn makes it easy to apply them. They talk about the process of change being likened to a 'Rider and a Elephant' and how the rider who sits on top of the mighty beast is akin to our cognitive reasoning, or mental decision to make a change. We know it's the right thing to do. We understand the benefit of adopting these new lifestyle behaviours. Our rider thinks he is in charge. However, he is really trying to control a mighty beast, the elephant, which is representative of our will or emotions. The rider sits on top making decisions about where to go and attempts to steer elephant below, but he has limited control due to the size of the animal. Unless the elephant is also committed to going in a certain direction, he will blunder forcefully ahead on another path and the rider is simply carried along, despite knowing where he would like to go.

This great analogy supports an important principle of coaching - we need to engage the head and the heart - the rider and the elephant. If we think of the rider being the director of our will-power - our strength to be disciplined, and our ability to resist the easy option, we can then see that his strength is limited. If the rider is constantly fighting the elephant, he will soon tire. Unless we have our elephant on side, who will help carry us along the desired path? In short, we need to engage our emotions in the change process. This applies to someone wanting to lose weight or to get fitter in exactly the same way as it would to adopting a new organisational policy (or a corporate health program). Unless the rider is directed and the elephant engaged, the change won't stick.

So when we are planning our strategy for change, if there are obstacles to overcome or difficulty in effecting the change, we need to ensure that emotions are heavily involved. In the wellness coaching model, we talk about needing to have a 'heart felt reason to change'. Same concept.

We can take this further. Once the rider has decided which path to take and the elephant is on side, we can make their journey easier by shaping the path ahead - by removing big obstacles that could get in the way and making environmental change that helps progress. Take the high fat food out of the fridge. Make the forms easier to complete! There are few change processes where this wouldn't apply.

If we layer coaching on top of this model, we provide another missing ingredient. Confidence. In the last issue you would have read about the importance of consistency. The step by step approach. This allows people to achieve small successes which in turn promote confidence. A good coach can help increase a client's confidence. Without a confident rider our elephant just blunders in the wrong direction! So in summary:

• It's the elephant not the rider who is in charge with his six tonnes of weight
• Self-control (or willpower) that the rider is responsible for, is a limited resource so should be conserved. If we use it in one situation it may not be available in another
• It is always smarter to plan in advance and shape the environment to make the elephant's path smoother
• We need to find the feeling, not the intellectual reason for change - something that makes us care
• Instead of raising the bar, we should put it on the ground to make achieving small steps to success easier

We can learn a lot from what has been written on the subject of motivation. We just need to apply it to our world. There's nothing new about what it takes to make change stick, we just need to increase our understanding of what influences our success.

Worrying - a useful process or a much-maligned habit?

What is worrying all about?
The very word 'worry' makes many of us worried. We know we have the tendency to do too much of it and we have a guilty assumption that is a waste of time, at best, and a destructive, confidence-killing habit at best.

What is worry?
Worrying is what we do when we turn things over in our minds and explore different outcomes to situations - we usually fixate on the negative outcome rather than the positive outcome - otherwise it would no longer be worrying. We then imagine what else (bad) could happen if that negative outcome were to occur. It's a way of exploring and anticipating what could go wrong and in a way can help us mentally prepare for the worst! The words, 'but what if...?' are frequently in Worry Time.

The main reason for worrying receiving such bad press is the belief that it doesn't change a situation and only stops us sleeping or doing something more productive with our lives.

But can worrying be productive?
If you revisit the statement above that contains the word 'explore', we start to see worry in a different light. Imagine if we were never to worry and managed to block all slightly distressing thoughts from our minds. When unfavourable events happened (as they do form time to time) we would be ill-prepared to deal with them. So perhaps we need to refine our worry so that it becomes something of value to us. Perhaps a lesson in worrying constructively might be of use?

Sports psychologist Dr. David Krauss believes that daily practice in worrying is advisable. He encourages his top athletes to worry 'on their terms' rather than being the victim of anxiety. In his book, 'Mastering the Inner Game' he suggests setting time aside each day to worry. Do the job, tick the box and get on with the rest of your day.

So how do we worry constructively?
First, identify the main issue or issues that are causing concern. Sometimes we think we are worrying about one thing but it hides something bigger. If we can identify the value underneath the area of worry, it will help us focus on what the emotions it's producing - usually anxiety - and we can give it our full attention. So let's say we worry about not meeting a deadline. The real fear behind this could be the realization that our motivation to complete the task is not that strong, which could mean that we don't enjoy our job. And if we face up to that fact, it might then necessitate some greater, scarier decisions.

Worry is associated with anxiety. By recognising anxiety and sitting with it for a while, we avoid blocking the fear with worry. Worry is generic, dull feeling and hard to put aside.

Tools we can use:
When we have identified the real fear we cna then test its validity. For example;

• I am afraid I am going to lose my job?
• What will happen if I lose my job?
• What would that open up for me? What would I need to do?
• Is there anything I can do now to either a) prevent losing my job or b) prepare myself for the next action required if I do?

Worry sometimes goes hand in hand with indecision and procrastination

If you find yourself in that uncomfortable place, try coming up with the age-old list of pros and cons. In coaching we call it a Decisional Balance as it provides a list that highlights the negatives and positives of taking a certain action. When they are written down, they are often easier to evaluate and assess. And guess what? When they're on paper, they are usually not scurrying around our head in a scrambled (worrying) fashion. This is a great way of problem solving but worrying is a bit different. We often worry about things that we have no control over at all. That is a waste of time unless it produces actions that we can take that will improve the situation.

In our daily worry time we can aim to have an action plan that concentrates on things we can do that will reduce the anxiety. So change your thinking. Instead of worrying about how much you are worrying, make your worry work for you!

A new take on what drives us

We read a lot of books and information these days - there is so much out there that it's hard not to collapse under a pile of facts, research and interesting commentary! But now and again, we read something that really makes us think.

The interest in 'motivation' has been constant but the real research started 40-50 years ago. Of course who wouldn't want to know, 'Why do people do what they do?'. With Wellness Coaching Australia, I work in the corporate sector and also in the fitness industry and the question of what motivates people is of paramount importance but for slightly different reasons. In the corporate world, more effectively and with greater satisfaction? In the health and fitness industries we want to know how we can help people find their motivation to change behaviours that are not working for them and adopt new behaviours that might work better?

Daniel Pink, in his latest book 'Drive' suggests that there are really only three things that motivate us (once our most basic needs for food, safety and shelter are met). These are:

1. Autonomy - the desire to direct our own lives
2. Mastery - the desire to continually improve at some thing that matters, and
3. Purpose - the desire to do things in service of something larger than ourselves

He also suggests that the traditional approach of the corporate world to use monetary incentives as a way of getting people to work harder can actually be detrimental to their performance. Not only will it not inspire people to strive for bigger goals, but it can destroy their enjoyment of the task and result in poorer performance!

In the health and fitness industry, are we right in assuming that the desire to look and feel better are the main motivators for people to make change in their habits? Perhaps not.

The interesting part of coaching is that we dig deeper to find the more complex and significant reasons why people want to change or move forward. When someone loses weight for example, and we ask what this was like for them, we will quickly hear comments such as 'life changing', 'I feel I have control over my life for the first time', 'I have a new purpose in my days and am about to change my career'. Losing weight can be transformational in more ways than a reflection in the mirror. Good coaches will help their clients tap into these possibilities, before they begin, to help create the motivation to stick to a plan.

And in the corporate world, with work becoming so much more creative and conceptual and the rise of the not-for-profit organizations, we really need to re-think the role that financial rewards play in undermining employees 'inner drive' to work because they enjoy it. There are better ways of encouraging your team to succeed.

This is not a new concept but Pink speaks out against the traditional view and advises his readers to go on a journey of discovery and throw out the 'carrot and stick' method of encouragement. This supports everything that the coaching model stands for which is about helping people take control of their lives, to strive for something that is important to them and to understand why it is important to them. Whether you are in the corporate world with a team of people who you lead to perform, or you are a trainer or club owner with the responsibility of delivering change programs that work you cannot afford to stick to an approach that is outdated but instead need to learn how to uncover people's inner motivation. The smarter operators are already re-thinking their system of 'encouragement'.

What does being WELL mean?

Wellness has many dimensions. Physical 'wellness' is generally the first we think of. Suitable levels of fitness, body weight, muscle strength and flexibility, good nutrition, sleep and postural wellness are all important in living 'well'. But let's not forget mental 'wellness'. The ability to handle stress, control negative thinking and recognise and understand our emotions are very important if you wish to live a productive and satisfying life. And then we have relationship 'wellness' which takes into account our need for meaningful and lasting connections with others and the ability to communicate with people in all areas of our lives - at home, at work, in friendships and the people we come in contact with on a daily basis. Let's not forget organizational 'wellness' where mentoring and coaching programs can improve the culture and attitude of the people who spend a large proportion of their life at work.

Last week I had the privilege of spending three days with the team of lecturers from RMIT who I will be joining in teaching the Masters of Wellness program this year. I listened with interest to them describe their course content and had a chance to reflect on where wellness coaching fitted in. Ranging from positive psychology to permaculture, food science to wellness assessment, intuitive healing, eastern anatomy and yoga to mention a few, it really brought home to me the depth of the concept of wellenss. When I am asked my work, I explain that I coach people to help them achieve 'optimal mental and physical health' which gives me some boundaries to operate around. But the reality is that wellness pervades every area of our personal and professional life so the boundaries are imaginary. When we consider community wellness and global wellness, we start to realise just where this area of learning can stretch to.

So where do we as wellness coaches draw the line and do we need to draw the line?

I have noticed over the years that when a person desires change in one area of their life, such as let's say 'increased fitness' or 'weight loss', and they write a vision around what they want in this area, it often expands to include other changes that they hadn't previously thought of. It's as if the question 'why do I want to be lighter?' stirs up the motivation to improve other areas such as professional satisfaction or improvements in relationships. It may be simply to have a less 'cluttered' existence. This is what makes wellness coaching endlessly fascinating and rewarding.