Packaging Human Motivation

Whenever someone figures this one out, license it because it's worth a bundle!

Human motivation is not objective. It is about as predictable and controllable as the weather! Individual personalities, preferences, ground-in lifestyle habits (both conscious & unconscious), hormonal fluctuations (men, too)...all affect our daily, and at times, hourly motivation to accomplish our goals. Think about it: you start with a planned day at work - a list of accomplishable goals for the day. Invariably, one or two items get pushed off to tomorrow because they either weren't important enough to complete today or because you just didn't feel like tackling that task today...not necessarily because you didn't have time to complete it/them. It's funny how yesterday when you planned today's list, that task was more important then than now. And why? Perhaps yesterday you were motivated to have that task off your list and today you changed your mind. There was a different motivation when you came to that item today. I do it all the time: my schedule indicates several things to address or do today, and those I don't get to, I "slide" to the next day with the touch of a finger...Apple makes it so easy to procrastinate!

Now, I know that there are a thousand - OK, well maybe just hundreds - of terms to describe the phenomenon I just illustrated, but I like human motivation, or the occasional lack thereof. A friend of our family's who happens to be an accomplished orthopaedic surgeon and entrepreneur tipped me off to the problems associated with human motivation as he worked diligently to perfect a home exercise program for patients with post-op total knee replacements - not that the program wasn't perfect, but patient compliance with the program was always the variable and that which could not be predicted. Patients are being instructed on the importance of this type of program from medical professionals. They are being told that the degree of their recovery, specifically how much they can bend and straighten their knee, pain and stiffness levels and overall daily functionality, is dependent on their compliance with the program. But, everyday patients rationalize within their own little brains why they just didn't have the 10 minutes to complete their exercise this morning and/or this evening. And now they wonder why they don't have the outcome that their physician predicted and that they expected...and they probably blame their doctor. Human motivation. Personal responsibility? Connecting intention with execution. We can't predict outcomes if the subject is non-compliant. It was this specific orthopaedist who stated "If you figure out how to package human motivation, it's worth a million".

I also remember several years ago after attending a seminar on Fat Cells and Disease - I approached a friend with all of the facts I'd acquired. I told her how excited I was to communicate these facts to potential clients, friends and family, because once they knew the health-related consequences of how metabolically destructive fat cells are (in excess), they'd surely WANT to change their behavior patterns, exercise and eat right. Her response, though crushing, was an eye opener. "Knowledge does not equate to behavior change. How many nurses do you know that smoke?". She was right, but I just couldn't fathom why. And I still can't. Although, our occasional trip to Hooters for wings and beer still thrills me, and I indulge, even though I know the potential effects of the deep fried wings on the health of my arteries. I also still harbor ill-will toward people who've wronged me in the past, even though I know that type of stress is dangerous. I still don't get enough sleep, even though I know it's critical to my health. And I still occasionally avoid hard workouts, even though I know they are what will take me to next level. Why? Lack of motivation to progress or to do the things I know are right? Naaah - why would I lack motivation for those things? Why would anyone? Rather, perhaps, I lack motivation to do those things because I can.

This all remains a mystery and a highly studied topic in the realm of behavior modification. The only conclusion I can make is that we lack motivation in certain areas because we can. If the US was not democratic, but rather socialistic or totalitarian, we may be more "motivated" to do certain things, as there would be mandates and government control, not just oversight. Health has begun to be patrolled in some less democratic countries such as Japan, as the government began measuring waistlines and enforcing mandatory nutritional counseling to manage their rising obesity problem (partially created by our "western" fast food infiltration of their society). I bring this up with caution, and will be brief in ending. With the state of health in the US where people are allowed to make poor lifestyle choices related to nutrition and physical activity, and where taxpayers who make good choices in those areas end up paying higher taxes due to rising insurance, medical and pharmaceutical costs (among other things) as a result of the poor health of those who chose poorly (long sentence! whew!...and drum roll...I can't believe I'm going to say this:)...would it be so bad to have more government involvement in "motivating people" to make the right choices? Human motivation to be healthy...do we have a right to choose not to be healthy?

Appreciate Your Failures

In my 20's, I certainly did not like to fail, nor did I find any appreciation of the concept of failing. Today, however, I have a growing admiration for failure. If you haven't failed, you haven't tried. If you do fail, at least you know what doesn't work. The more you fail, the more you know about what doesn't work. And the more failures you have (subsequent to the number of attempts you make, of course), the more successes you will ultimately accrue!

The same holds true with both fitness and nutrition/cooking. With fitness, driving your intensity up to the point of failure every once in a while stimulates your metabolic systems to a level they aren't used to reaching, thereby creating change and growth. Maxing out to failure on, say dead lifts, may not be enjoyable on that last, lightheaded repetition, but that max weight and subsequent failure have primed you to do better the next time you do them. (Can you tell that's what I did today? Failure #1 (with a PR attached to it!)) The ability to approach your workout without fear, anxiety or apprehension as to it's difficulty level is the key to "super-fitness". It's something a lot of people struggle with. There's an ongoing joke at the gym I train at: "how many times do you have to pee before you start a hard workout?" The standard answer for a select group of brilliant and incredibly strong women is "a lot"! But we do it (both pee a lot and train hard) - and they're stronger and better for it. No fear of failure, once you get started.

With cooking...ah, the fear of failure again..."that's why I don't cook - I don't know how". No, rather, we're simply afraid of failing. What happens if it doesn't work out or if it's terrible? 1-800-PIZZA HUT! But really, every time you fail in the kitchen, you learn something that no cookbook can teach you: what not to do! If you fail at the same thing enough, you'll eventually get it - or, you'll look up the process and correct what you're doing wrong. The best education is hands on/immersion. Sometimes, especially in the kitchen, having no fear of failure can create the most profound growth. Just today, I was dreaming up a healthy peanut butter and jelly flavored pudding dessert. I thought a puree of peanut butter, seedless black grapes, yogurt and cottage cheese, sweetened with a bit of honey or agave would be fantabulous! After assembling and pureeing the choice ingredients, the flavor was certainly there - but it was too runny and I wasn't sure if it would set up. I knew flour and cornstarch weren't the answer (from past failures), but Google told me to try a bit of plain gelatin dissolved in boiling water. And I had gelatin! I also had those little 8 oz shaker cups I use to make mini-protein powder mixes in the morning. So I nuked the water to boiling, added the gelatin, put the lid on it and started to shake it up. Are there any science-geniuses out there that have been thinking..."DON'T PUT THE LID ON IT!" since I typed the words "put the lid on it"? Yep, it exploded sticky boiling gelatin water all over me, the cat, the cabinets, the stainless steel front of the dishwasher, the TV and the floor (Failure #2). Heck, it's probably on the ceiling as well, but I won't know until it dries and turns yellow with age. My point to this is that one serious failure that took me 20 minutes to clean up and left me with runny PBJ pudding (still), taught me a lesson I'll never forget. Sure, I was upset with the mess, but later was laughing at my own stupidity.

I guess the point is that our fears truly hold back our full potential with just about everything in life. I am solely speaking from within the realm of health, but the concept applies to our careers, our relationships, our faiths, and so on. We need to figure out a way to humble ourselves and look for ways to fail, and after the failure, embrace the emotion of accomplishment versus embarrassment. I know there are several books written on this topic. But from a health perspective - drive yourself to failure every once in a while. The surge of energy and pride in the volume of effort you put into that failure should be reward enough!

Back at it! Topic: Scrutiny

OK, I'm back at it, and going to try to commit to this every morning, if nothing else, to purge my swelling brain!

It's every day that a newscaster illuminates us with the brilliance from some single study (backed by "who knows") that exercise abates hot flashes for women in menopause, eliminating or reducing fast food for kids helps battle childhood obesity, eating more fruits and vegetables may prevent many types of cancer, reducing calories to "within your normal limits" can yield weight loss, increasing exercise intensity can improve your fitness levels or better yet, improve insulin sensitivity and lessen (or dare I say it... CURE) Type 2 Diabetes), or that the phytonutrients and/or antioxidants in various types of fresh/whole foods can yield specific benefits to our bodies (beta carotene for eye health, lycopene for prostate health), etc., etc., etc.,

My comments: "No kidding!", "Duh", "And your point is...", "Don't we already know that?", "Didn't we learn that in kindergarten?"

Come on people. Why are fascinated that the most obvious things-the things we already KNOW we know-are good for us. And why do we swoon over "a university study" that tells us what we already know? Pull your shoulders back because you already know it, AND DO IT!

Better yet, why don't we crinkle our foreheads and cock our heads to the right in suspicion when we hear about a pharmaceutical industry-funded study that reveals a "magic bean" (a.k.a. a pill) can do one or any of the same things I mentioned above? Or that a supplement (funded by the company producing or selling the supplement, of course) containing an extract of, or derived from a natural food we could ingest, such as Vitamin C or Cinnamon, can cure...whatever...and we buy into it.

I think I started last year with "back to basics". That's what's going to improve our health and create overall wellness.

• Eat whole, natural foods.
• Eat only enough to satisfy your energy needs for the day.
• Eat a variety of foods to obtain the myriad of micronutrients offered to us by nature.
• Move. Be physically active. Sweat.
• Be an example for the young people in this country. Be healthy.

In a nutshell, be a critical thinker when listening to news related to health and nutrition, question everything then go find the answer (this would be called exercising your brain!), be smart when researching the answer (don't believe everything you read), be an example and eat healthily most of the time, and exercise.

It's not hard. We all know it. To quote Nike's cliche: Just do it!

IT'S OFFICIAL!!

Hello again!

Well, the way-to-long hiatus has finally paid off. Today, Jan. 14th, a few weeks BEFORE my 40th birthday, I sat for and passed my ACSM Certified Personal Trainer Test. If this is what "taking a load off" feels like, I highly recommend it!

So, now, to put in motion the all the planning that I had done prior to putting the emphasis into the certification (cart before the horse!) - I'm in business!

Stay tuned for regular science-based, creative and motivating information on how to eat better, get fitter, be healthier, and feel better - all while loving every minute of it.

Here's to an uber-healthy 2009 and beyond!

Scissors for Christmas?

Yes, it's been TOO LONG since I've been here and laid out new information, education and my thoughts on all that's been going on in health and fitness news! And yes, my title of "Scissors for Christmas?" is serious. And frankly, they are connected: what's been happening in our society and my recommendation to purchase scissors as Christmas gifts. Let me explain...

First, my two month hiatus from blogging has been due to an increased focus on studying for my ACSM Personal Trainer Certification Test. My goal of completing the certification before my 40th birthday is about 60 days away - hence the lack of activity here!

Next, let me explain my Christmas plan for 2008 that lends itself to the "Christmas Scissors idea". My husband and I have spoken to just a few friends about this so far, but have confirmed with parents and siblings, and made the pact within our family of two people and one feline, that we will not be purchasing Christmas gifts this year, other than for my husband's daughter and our new little nephew, Jack. Last evening, we also made the decision not to send holiday cards. Even by downsizing from our usual Christmas Card Project (which was always an event in of itself) to a postcard, we felt that the postage funds should go elsewhere. This year we have committed to taking the money we would have allocated on gifts, cards and postage, in addition to the time we would have invested shopping for the gifts and planning the card, and will be 100% focused on helping families in the Tampa Bay area who have been hit by hard times this year and this season. We are committing time and money to two local organizations to help specific families with dependent children have a true holiday, rich with warm food, Christmas decorations, gifts for the children - as well as the parents. We will take a small part in celebrating Christmas with these families, as well as volunteer time to help prepare and serve meals.

Now, what do the Christmas Scissors have to do with all this? Well, this morning as I was eating my chicken and veggie omelet, drinking my green tea and reading the paper, I found a few ads:

• one for "$10.00 off your visit" to Smokey Bones, an Applebees/Bennigans-like chain of sit-down fast food,
• one for my local Surf & Turf market with great lean beef, chicken and deli meat (Board Head: no preservatives/additives!) sales, and
• one for Metropolitan Ministries, advertising that a donation of $1.67 would feed one person an entire holiday meal through Metropolitan Ministries of Tampa Bay.

And the scissors? Last evening while reading the New York Times, they suggested scissors as holiday gifts...for coupon cutting!!

And so, my suggestion for those of you caught up in the holiday hubbub or those of you who just want to do "something" to serve your community but don't know what to do, is this:

• First, throw away the Smokey Bones "deals", chain restaurant dinners with two for one appetizers in exchange for a meal at home with healthy food choices. You'll save money, even considering the coupon, and you'll actually know what you are feeding your body! Or better yet, get together with friends and cook a meal together. Congregate and celebrate - it doesn't have to be at a restaurant!
• Second, buy some scissors. Clip local coupons. And for those of you that I have personally heard utter these words: "I don't have time" - forgo your soap operas, Oprah or CSI for ONE DAY, give up one redundant, non-productive telephone conversation, or get up a 1/2 hour early tomorrow and just do it. Excuses are for the weak. Solutions are for the powerful. Clip local coupons for healthy foods and services you use regularly. Save a few bucks!
• Third, use the few dollars you saved by eating in and clipping coupons...maybe all of $1.67....to make this holiday a little better for someone who isn't as fortunate. It's not about being frugal for those who are afraid of that word. It's about finding the means and will to help someone less fortunate this year have a happy holiday.

Happy Holidays from RebelHealth. I'm looking forward to 2009 - helping people lead healthier lives!