Hello Everyone!
As I mentioned in a prior post, my entries would be few and far between because I needed to concentrate on a new path in my life ... getting my masters degree in business. I'm now halfway through my MBA program - and I'm still alive! Whew! :-)
This year has been full of changes - professionally, personally, and even in the area of fitness. A year ago, my life shifted dramatically from an active daily routine to almost totally sedentary. I started a new "desk job" a year ago and began my graduate coursework simultaneously. Bam! Talk about going from active to sedentary? I work at a desk from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., spend three hours sitting in a car in the late afternoon/early evening while driving my children to their school commitments, read my textbooks every spare second I can grab, then plop myself down at a desk at 9 p.m. to study until midnight. I get the joy of then waking up and doing it all over again the next day. Add personal stress into the mix, and it's a recipe for fitness and health disaster!
Some of you experience similar lifestyles. I think of truck drivers who do nothing but sit for hours and hours, or people like me who work all day and take classes at night. Nothing we do will change the sedentary nature of our work - it's what we're given at the moment.
So what have I done for my health in the midst of this new sedentary lifestyle? First, I've worked hard to keep my nutrition in order. I continue to load my refrigerator with healthy snacks and foods so that if I give in to mindless munching while studying, I don't do too much damage!
I have remained diligent in my exercise. It's still my catharsis. It's the thing that allows a constructive and healthy outlet to all the stress that gets locked up inside me. But I will warn you - doing an hour of exercise a day does NOT offset 23 hours of sitting. It just doesn't. Sorry, but true.
And that is one of my revelations (thank God we're never too old to learn!) Our bodies weren't designed to be lumps on logs. We were made to move. Think about the history of the human population and how they lived - they moved and worked to survive. My youngest daughter is the one who struggles with being active. She'd rather be inside laying on the comfy couch with a book than playing a game of PIG outside at the basketball hoop! I told her that the new motto throughout our day will be: MOVE. ("I like to move it, move it. You like to move it, move it. We like to....MOVE IT! :"- courtesy of the movie Madagascar!)
For me personally, this means thinking of ways in which I consciously put my body in motion. Instead of collecting items throughout the day to carry up the stairs once (even though that IS efficient!), I carry each item upstairs whenever the need arises. I make an effort to stand in the evening whenever possible. Instead of sitting at the table working on my laptop, I place the laptop at my kitchen island and stand while I do computer work. If we have a movie night, I spend an hour of the movie moving (walking in place, stepping up and down on my aerobic step, etc.) and always fold laundry standing.
These are minor ways in which I can get my body in motion to offset the times I'm forced to be sedentary. Because as I mentioned, jumping on a treadmill for an hour cannot possibly compensate for 23 hours on my duff.... so creative thinking and planning must be involved!
I'm still in shape - and working every day to be mindful of ways to live a life of health.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Variety May NOT Be the Spice of Life for Weight Loss!
According to Dr. Mehmet Oz (yes, of Oprah fame), eating the same meal once daily may very well HELP you lose weight. That's right. He claims that people who choose the same meal (say for lunch), lose more weight than those who shoot for variety in their meals!
That’s Fit website quotes Dr. Oz as saying “By decreasing the variety of foods you eat throughout the day, you'll decrease the chance for the hedonistic rampages that can be so dangerous."
Hmmm. So if you limit your choices, weight loss (or staying on track) is easier! Dr. Oz recommends choosing a healthy dish you like, and sticking with it. For example, if you really like grilled chicken Asian salad or veggie wraps, then use those as standard lunches.
My recommendation: If you’re afraid you’re going to get bored, don’t be! Simply tweak the meal! For example, switch up the ingredients you include in your salad. You might add different greens, water chestnuts, sesame seeds or apple chunks, or change the chicken to salmon…you get the idea.
In general, I try to eat a larger lunch and a much smaller dinner. My dinner meal is the one I keep relatively "the same" a few nights per week. My standby dinner is a whole wheat tortilla layered with beans, corn, and light cheese served with a small salad or fruit. I know that if I'm running and gunning, I have a meal I can count on to be healthy, quick, and easy. It takes the guesswork out of a lot of nights! And if I got bored with it, I simply change up the style of beans or the veggies I include. So in my experience, what Dr. Oz says is true! I think keeping the same meal a few days a week has helped me stay on track because I don't have to grocery shop for lots of different meals, I don't have to spend lots of time in the kitchen learning new recipes, and I can rush home with 10 minutes to spare before having to drive a child to a practice and still have a healthy meal ready without stress of “What do I fix now?”
The That’s Fit article also points out this no-brainer: “Bonus: Just as you plan your lunches, plan your snacks too and keep small containers of baby carrots, celery sticks, apple slices, nuts or dried fruit on hand to counter that mid-afternoon urge to hit the vending machine. ‘You're more likely to avoid unhealthy snacking temptations if you've planned ahead,’ says Dr. Oz.”
Ah, yes. The middle drawer in my office desk is my fruit/veggie/nut drawer! I load it up at the beginning of the week and raid it instead of the candy basket in my boss’s office!
You can do it, too! Plan ahead today.
That’s Fit website quotes Dr. Oz as saying “By decreasing the variety of foods you eat throughout the day, you'll decrease the chance for the hedonistic rampages that can be so dangerous."
Hmmm. So if you limit your choices, weight loss (or staying on track) is easier! Dr. Oz recommends choosing a healthy dish you like, and sticking with it. For example, if you really like grilled chicken Asian salad or veggie wraps, then use those as standard lunches.
My recommendation: If you’re afraid you’re going to get bored, don’t be! Simply tweak the meal! For example, switch up the ingredients you include in your salad. You might add different greens, water chestnuts, sesame seeds or apple chunks, or change the chicken to salmon…you get the idea.
In general, I try to eat a larger lunch and a much smaller dinner. My dinner meal is the one I keep relatively "the same" a few nights per week. My standby dinner is a whole wheat tortilla layered with beans, corn, and light cheese served with a small salad or fruit. I know that if I'm running and gunning, I have a meal I can count on to be healthy, quick, and easy. It takes the guesswork out of a lot of nights! And if I got bored with it, I simply change up the style of beans or the veggies I include. So in my experience, what Dr. Oz says is true! I think keeping the same meal a few days a week has helped me stay on track because I don't have to grocery shop for lots of different meals, I don't have to spend lots of time in the kitchen learning new recipes, and I can rush home with 10 minutes to spare before having to drive a child to a practice and still have a healthy meal ready without stress of “What do I fix now?”
The That’s Fit article also points out this no-brainer: “Bonus: Just as you plan your lunches, plan your snacks too and keep small containers of baby carrots, celery sticks, apple slices, nuts or dried fruit on hand to counter that mid-afternoon urge to hit the vending machine. ‘You're more likely to avoid unhealthy snacking temptations if you've planned ahead,’ says Dr. Oz.”
Ah, yes. The middle drawer in my office desk is my fruit/veggie/nut drawer! I load it up at the beginning of the week and raid it instead of the candy basket in my boss’s office!
You can do it, too! Plan ahead today.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Race Calendar 2010
There's nothing like signing up for a race to force you into getting into shape and running! If you've been interested in jogging, but haven't had the guts, this is a way to give yourself a few months to train and prepare.
The Triple Cities Running Club posts an annual list of races in our vicinity. You can check out the list, choose a 5K race a few months out, and register. Voila! This way, you're committed to a date, and believe me, that's an incredible incentive!
Don't know how to begin training? It's EASY. Click here to read Coolrunning.com's article entitled: "The Couch-to-5K Running Plan." Then check out all the races in our vicinity - they're listed by month so you can target WHEN you think you'll be ready to experience a race.
See you at the finish line!
The Triple Cities Running Club posts an annual list of races in our vicinity. You can check out the list, choose a 5K race a few months out, and register. Voila! This way, you're committed to a date, and believe me, that's an incredible incentive!
Don't know how to begin training? It's EASY. Click here to read Coolrunning.com's article entitled: "The Couch-to-5K Running Plan." Then check out all the races in our vicinity - they're listed by month so you can target WHEN you think you'll be ready to experience a race.
See you at the finish line!
Diligence Guarantees Fitness Results
So many of life's disciplines are intertwined ... what one learns in one area of life can easily transfer to another.
Being diligent is just one of those. Whether it's remaining on top of your finances, being consistent with your parenting, committed to investing into your retirement account, staying on top of your car's maintenance, or dieting and exercise, if you slack off for even a little while, you'll feel the consequences. Lack of diligence will show itself evident.
I have a friend who faithfully monitors her bank account daily - in fact, several times a day! She likes to know how much is in her account, which checks have cleared and when automatic payments/automatic deposits have been posted. Not only does she check her accounts frequently, she uses Quicken to track her expenses so she can know if she's over or under her budget and how her savings plan is stacking up. Let me tell you ... she's great at saving! Why? Because she's diligent in watching what she spends, how she spends, where her money goes, etc. I know for me, once I take my eyes off my own budget, I spend more. When you pay less attention, or are less diligent, then a laxness occurs that allows more variance in the outcome you want!
We've all heard stories of people who lost 50 pounds, then a year or two later, they've gained it all back again. It took diligence to lose the weight in the first place ... and it took lack of diligence to gain it back.
For four years, I have been diligent in getting some form of exercise six days per week - and I mean diligent. To the point there were nights I was on my elliptical machine at 10:30 p.m. because I couldn't fit it in during earlier hours. But it was that kind of diligence and dedication that whipped my out-of-shape body into shape! When you're overweight and far from being fit, a simple stroll a few days a week just won't cut it. Trust me, I know!
HOWEVER, the past few months have been very difficult to fit in the level of exercise I'm used to. I won't give you my excuses (because that's all they are when you get down to it!), but suffice it to say I didn't exert due diligence in fitting enough exercise into my daily life. Hand in hand with getting lax in the amount of exercise, is the laxness in the foods I allowed myself. Granted, I'm catching myself before I go back to the dark side (my fat days), but yes, I feel some consequences to not being as diligent. My jeans are tighter, I'm more winded when I try to run longer distances and I don't feel as strong in my upper body. I don't feel as good about my health. It's a direct correlation!
The answer? To remain diligent with those things that are important to you! I'm a firm believer that EVERYONE finds time, or the money, to invest in that which they think is important!! We just do. If it's weight loss and better health you want, laxness will keep the outcome you want out of reach, while diligence will guarantee results!
For me, I don't want to go back to the dark side. Diligence with exercise and diet WILL reflect itself in my health and fitness. I know what I have to do. :-)
Being diligent is just one of those. Whether it's remaining on top of your finances, being consistent with your parenting, committed to investing into your retirement account, staying on top of your car's maintenance, or dieting and exercise, if you slack off for even a little while, you'll feel the consequences. Lack of diligence will show itself evident.
I have a friend who faithfully monitors her bank account daily - in fact, several times a day! She likes to know how much is in her account, which checks have cleared and when automatic payments/automatic deposits have been posted. Not only does she check her accounts frequently, she uses Quicken to track her expenses so she can know if she's over or under her budget and how her savings plan is stacking up. Let me tell you ... she's great at saving! Why? Because she's diligent in watching what she spends, how she spends, where her money goes, etc. I know for me, once I take my eyes off my own budget, I spend more. When you pay less attention, or are less diligent, then a laxness occurs that allows more variance in the outcome you want!
We've all heard stories of people who lost 50 pounds, then a year or two later, they've gained it all back again. It took diligence to lose the weight in the first place ... and it took lack of diligence to gain it back.
For four years, I have been diligent in getting some form of exercise six days per week - and I mean diligent. To the point there were nights I was on my elliptical machine at 10:30 p.m. because I couldn't fit it in during earlier hours. But it was that kind of diligence and dedication that whipped my out-of-shape body into shape! When you're overweight and far from being fit, a simple stroll a few days a week just won't cut it. Trust me, I know!
HOWEVER, the past few months have been very difficult to fit in the level of exercise I'm used to. I won't give you my excuses (because that's all they are when you get down to it!), but suffice it to say I didn't exert due diligence in fitting enough exercise into my daily life. Hand in hand with getting lax in the amount of exercise, is the laxness in the foods I allowed myself. Granted, I'm catching myself before I go back to the dark side (my fat days), but yes, I feel some consequences to not being as diligent. My jeans are tighter, I'm more winded when I try to run longer distances and I don't feel as strong in my upper body. I don't feel as good about my health. It's a direct correlation!
The answer? To remain diligent with those things that are important to you! I'm a firm believer that EVERYONE finds time, or the money, to invest in that which they think is important!! We just do. If it's weight loss and better health you want, laxness will keep the outcome you want out of reach, while diligence will guarantee results!
For me, I don't want to go back to the dark side. Diligence with exercise and diet WILL reflect itself in my health and fitness. I know what I have to do. :-)
Monday, January 18, 2010
One Easy Tweak Can Indeed Lead to Weight Loss!
If you've been with me for a while, you know I'm a proponent of making small lifestyle changes over a period of time...that slow and steady wins the race! I know that in my own health journey, I made only two initial changes in my lifestyle - and those two changes resulted in a 40 pound weight loss over 6 months - and that weight has been kept off for four years! I began exercising 60 minutes every day, and I cut white flour out of my diet. Those two simple modifications ended up being more significant than I could have imagined! Instead of changing 20 different things in my diet or exercise (which we tend to do when we're thinking of losing weight - we try to revamp EVERYTHING), I focused on two changes, making it simple and not overwhelming.
I came across an article on MSNBC.com entitled, "Ten Ways to Drop a Size in 2010". But it wasn't the title that grabbed me...it was the subtitle: "Make one easy tweak a week to quadruple your weight loss."
Ah, making an "easy tweak." Now this I like. Little changes. Little changes are not intimidating, they're easier to stick with, and it's much more doable than 20 changes at once!
Click here to read the article and see if maybe one of these "tweaks" might be for you!
I came across an article on MSNBC.com entitled, "Ten Ways to Drop a Size in 2010". But it wasn't the title that grabbed me...it was the subtitle: "Make one easy tweak a week to quadruple your weight loss."
Ah, making an "easy tweak." Now this I like. Little changes. Little changes are not intimidating, they're easier to stick with, and it's much more doable than 20 changes at once!
Click here to read the article and see if maybe one of these "tweaks" might be for you!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Handbook 2010
I usually don't publish something unless I can give credit to the author - but I'm going to make an exception in this case. My sister sent me an e-mail entitled "Handbook 2010" and I thought it was worth posting! And if you've already seen it, it's worth a reread! So, here's to a healthier you in 2010.....
HANDBOOK 2010
Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray, pray often and give thanks.
6. Play more games.
7. Read more books than you did in 2009.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 30 minute walk daily. And while you walk, smile.
Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others... You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do.. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...
Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give or do something good to/for/with others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
Life:
32. Do the right thing! Integrity is not what you "believe" it is defined by how you live your life!!!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful. Your character is defined by the company you keep, what type of friends are in your core circle, are they assets or liabilities?
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change...
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come...
38. When you awake in the morning, thank GOD for it.
HANDBOOK 2010
Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray, pray often and give thanks.
6. Play more games.
7. Read more books than you did in 2009.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 30 minute walk daily. And while you walk, smile.
Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others... You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do.. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...
Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give or do something good to/for/with others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
Life:
32. Do the right thing! Integrity is not what you "believe" it is defined by how you live your life!!!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful. Your character is defined by the company you keep, what type of friends are in your core circle, are they assets or liabilities?
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change...
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come...
38. When you awake in the morning, thank GOD for it.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Junk Food Makeovers
It's really not rocket science - the idea of taking a food that you love and giving it a "healthy tweak!" But sometimes fresh ideas for alternatives to our favorites is all we need to re-energize us and help us make better efforts at substitutions and healthy choices.
Joy Bauer, nutritionist (featured on NBC's Today show) and author, recently shared five kid-friendly alternatives to not so weight-friendly meals. But don't be fooled. These alternatives aren't just for kids! So whether you're seeking fresh ideas for you OR your loved ones, check out:
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/34753673/ns/today-today_health/
Joy Bauer, nutritionist (featured on NBC's Today show) and author, recently shared five kid-friendly alternatives to not so weight-friendly meals. But don't be fooled. These alternatives aren't just for kids! So whether you're seeking fresh ideas for you OR your loved ones, check out:
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/34753673/ns/today-today_health/
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Resistance to Change/Patterned Responses
Who would have thought that one of my MBA courses would correlate to weight loss?! But lo and behold, like many things in life, lessons learned in one area of life can transfer to other areas.
This particular business class was covering the topic of performing periodic audits within a company to evaluate strengths, weaknesses and any areas needing improvement. Sounds reasonable and intuitive, right? But just like how driving a four-wheel drive SUV in the winter can give you a false sense of security, so, too, can audits. Dr. Barry Eisenberg, assistant professor in the MBA program at Empire State College, was quick to point out that audits, or evaluations, aren't enough. Even changing your mindset to embrace what an audit reveals, isn't enough! Hang on...
Get where I'm going yet?
Many of you are embarking on New Year's resolutions. You've evaluated whatever "health" or "fitness" weaknesses you may have in your life, you've pinpointed areas that need improvement... and you might be feeling really good that you've realized these things about your fitness.
I've always said that the weight-loss battle, or ANY battle in life, begins in the mind. Truly! But let's take this a step further. The following will take some processing - but once you get it, it can be life changing! The long and short of it is that while making a fitness commitment might feel good and have you pumped up with enthusiasm, if the change is ONLY attitudinal, without behavioral change to back it up, then you're maintaining the status quo in your life - keeping to what you know and what is comfortable. No true change can occur in this case. Here are words of wisdom from Professor Eisenberg (emphasis mine):
It’s easy to say that we resist change. We all know that. But we should not underestimate the degree to which this is true. We tend to accept or pursue change when the perception of the reward exceeds the perception of the effort that goes into achieving it. But systems theory (and for those interested, the second law of thermodynamics) posits that systems – groups, organizations – and people bend back toward the mean, that is, they seek homeostasis. That is one explanation for why we tend to repeat behavior when it appears ill-advised or when it produces the same results, notwithstanding how dissatisfying or frustrating those results may be.
(Prof. Eisenberg goes on to discuss organizations and their tendency to want stability by remaining the same):
But stability is a powerful human and organizational force. You have been discussing ways of resisting that force in order to engage yourselves in ongoing audits. The tools and awareness this program will provide will fortify your capability to achieve that objective. But so too will an awareness of how easily trapped we become by our patterned responses and how our organizations are motivated by the natural tendency to maintain things as they are.
(Prof. Eisenberg then discusses a hospital that tried to initiate changes according to JCAHO requirements)....
The point is that the hospital believed it conducted an audit and made the necessary changes. Rather, what really occurred is that they absorbed relatively minor changes into their existing structure, culture, and set of rules. Could we say they deluded themselves into believing they made change?
(OKAY WAKE UP - THIS NEXT PARAGRAPH SHOULD GRAB YOU!)
It’s not unusual for us to believe we are making change…and we even convince ourselves of it, when, in fact, change on the required order of magnitude has not occurred. Consider the smoker who declares he is quitting the habit. Once such a declaration has occurred, the person may come to believe that he has engaged in change. That is, the declaration itself is believed to constitute some measure of change. Why? Because the commitment represents some version of change. The commitment was not there one day, and the next day it was. Presto! Change. Even if the deadline comes and goes, the commitment remains with the person. In fact, if actually quitting the habit is too difficult, the person may go through in series of activities to help bring about the behavior change…nicotine patches, hypnotism, classes, etc. What sustains the person is that change did occur; however, it occurred attitudinally, not behaviorally. Yet, the person may cope with the dissonance of not actually quitting by coming to believe that the commitment to quit represents a change of sufficient magnitude. Sure, we may call this rationalizing. But it’s a very powerful psychological mechanism for resisting change. ... When we consider how continuous improvement can occur, it’s important to be mindful of the tendency to resist change so that we are more prepared to embrace it.
This particular business class was covering the topic of performing periodic audits within a company to evaluate strengths, weaknesses and any areas needing improvement. Sounds reasonable and intuitive, right? But just like how driving a four-wheel drive SUV in the winter can give you a false sense of security, so, too, can audits. Dr. Barry Eisenberg, assistant professor in the MBA program at Empire State College, was quick to point out that audits, or evaluations, aren't enough. Even changing your mindset to embrace what an audit reveals, isn't enough! Hang on...
Get where I'm going yet?
Many of you are embarking on New Year's resolutions. You've evaluated whatever "health" or "fitness" weaknesses you may have in your life, you've pinpointed areas that need improvement... and you might be feeling really good that you've realized these things about your fitness.
I've always said that the weight-loss battle, or ANY battle in life, begins in the mind. Truly! But let's take this a step further. The following will take some processing - but once you get it, it can be life changing! The long and short of it is that while making a fitness commitment might feel good and have you pumped up with enthusiasm, if the change is ONLY attitudinal, without behavioral change to back it up, then you're maintaining the status quo in your life - keeping to what you know and what is comfortable. No true change can occur in this case. Here are words of wisdom from Professor Eisenberg (emphasis mine):
It’s easy to say that we resist change. We all know that. But we should not underestimate the degree to which this is true. We tend to accept or pursue change when the perception of the reward exceeds the perception of the effort that goes into achieving it. But systems theory (and for those interested, the second law of thermodynamics) posits that systems – groups, organizations – and people bend back toward the mean, that is, they seek homeostasis. That is one explanation for why we tend to repeat behavior when it appears ill-advised or when it produces the same results, notwithstanding how dissatisfying or frustrating those results may be.
(Prof. Eisenberg goes on to discuss organizations and their tendency to want stability by remaining the same):
But stability is a powerful human and organizational force. You have been discussing ways of resisting that force in order to engage yourselves in ongoing audits. The tools and awareness this program will provide will fortify your capability to achieve that objective. But so too will an awareness of how easily trapped we become by our patterned responses and how our organizations are motivated by the natural tendency to maintain things as they are.
(Prof. Eisenberg then discusses a hospital that tried to initiate changes according to JCAHO requirements)....
The point is that the hospital believed it conducted an audit and made the necessary changes. Rather, what really occurred is that they absorbed relatively minor changes into their existing structure, culture, and set of rules. Could we say they deluded themselves into believing they made change?
(OKAY WAKE UP - THIS NEXT PARAGRAPH SHOULD GRAB YOU!)
It’s not unusual for us to believe we are making change…and we even convince ourselves of it, when, in fact, change on the required order of magnitude has not occurred. Consider the smoker who declares he is quitting the habit. Once such a declaration has occurred, the person may come to believe that he has engaged in change. That is, the declaration itself is believed to constitute some measure of change. Why? Because the commitment represents some version of change. The commitment was not there one day, and the next day it was. Presto! Change. Even if the deadline comes and goes, the commitment remains with the person. In fact, if actually quitting the habit is too difficult, the person may go through in series of activities to help bring about the behavior change…nicotine patches, hypnotism, classes, etc. What sustains the person is that change did occur; however, it occurred attitudinally, not behaviorally. Yet, the person may cope with the dissonance of not actually quitting by coming to believe that the commitment to quit represents a change of sufficient magnitude. Sure, we may call this rationalizing. But it’s a very powerful psychological mechanism for resisting change. ... When we consider how continuous improvement can occur, it’s important to be mindful of the tendency to resist change so that we are more prepared to embrace it.
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