What do you think?

A couple of months ago, I came across another incentive program.  This time, the State of Alabama is encouraging employees to lose weight by telling them that a $25/month insurance fee will be charged to them if within one year they do not make any progress on adopting a healthy lifestyle.  Note that this insurance fee is not applicable for all those employees who are already considered healthy.

In both cases, people are being encouraged to adopt healthy behaviours which is a positive thing.  However, it feels like the incentives are coming from opposite ends of the spectrum; reward versus punishment.

The State of Alabama has clearly said that they have not yet determined what would be considered to be progress.  This is likely a very difficult and touchy word to define in this case.  What is progress for one person may be a walk in the park for another.  The challenge here will be to ensure that they are able to define progress in a way that is relative to all employees.  Setting a fixed amount of weight such as in the case of the town of Varallo, may not be the best way to go.  People are different and progress needs to be defined based on those differences.

Though the intention seems to be the promotion of healthy behaviours among employees, the method by which this employer is trying to achieve this can be argued to be inappropriate.  All employers want healthy employees.  From an economic perspective, it’s a huge cost savings for an employer to invest in preventative health measures than to pay for long-term medical treatment for employees who are already in varying stages of disease.

However, when preventative health measures become imposing mandatory screenings or risk financial punishment, an employer cannot help but expect a backlash.  We often forget that people behave in certain ways because this behaviour is working for them in some way or another.  Neither family, friends nor physicians (least of all an employer), can bully anyone into changing their behaviours, no matter how well-intentioned they may be.

Simply putting systems in place, such as free health screenings, free doctor visits and access to health programs is ignoring a huge factor in behaviour change.  People need to understand the reward and the return that they will receive by putting themselves through the additional hassle and headache of screenings, doctors visits and workout programs.  My hunch is that for many, an employer’s transparent attempt at saving money won’t be sufficient to encourage such a behaviour change.  The other question is how much of an impact will $25 make on these employees’ salaries?

The other thing that this plan fails to address is the fact that most people likely know the risks of the behaviours that they have adopted.  We all know that smoking leads to cancer, but there are many people who still smoke.  We know that eating high fat foods will lead to weight gain and possibly heart disease; yet we do it anyway.  Simply knowing that something is bad, is not enough to make someone change their mind about doing it.

Then again, what do I know?  I’m just a lowly employee who is trucking along and doing what works for me.

As someone who has never dealt with any type of back pain, this was a new experience for me; and not a pleasant one.  By all accounts, my injury was fairly minor and did not cause any nerve or disc damage to speak of.  And though I was happy to hear that it was nothing serious, my heart goes out to those who have to deal with this, and more severe pain, on a regular basis.

For those of you who have had back pain, you have probably explored many types of treatment.  However, this was a new world for me.  When my coach suggested that I see a chiropractor, my initial reaction was to cringe and reply skeptically, “A what?”.

Ever since I was a child, I have grown up with this kind of fear of chiropractic medicine.  Whether this resulted from watching too many 60 Minutes or Dateline episodes, I couldn’t say.  But I can say that the dreaded “Crack” of the chiropractor was never a particularly pleasant story.  This, coupled with the fact that my past injury experience has always been with physiotherapists, I remained skeptical.  However, in this case, my coach convinced me to at least give her chiropractor a try.

I have now had about 6 sessions with the chiropractor.  Recovery has been somewhat of an upward climb, and not without some bumps in the road (Note to self: don’t sneeze!!).  However, it has been a rather positive experience; albeit very different from what I was used to.

I found that chiropractic treatment is a far more active form of treatment on the part of the practitioner.  I think my chiropractor worked up a bigger sweat than I did while I was doing my exercises!  She chose to use Active Release Therapy (ART) to treat the stiffness in my hip and the pain in my back.  This soft tissue treatment approach was an approach that I wouldn’t even expect from a physiotherapist.  And though I still find it painful to go through this treatment, it is a good kind of pain; a sort of active or participatory massage. I have also noticed that with ART, I can get almost immediate results.  What could be better than that?!

However, it’s important for me to mention that even though ART seems to yield very quick results, it is up to me to maintain the improvement.  It’s up to me to do my assigned exercises at home in order to continue to recover from my injury.  Like any form of treatment, at some point, it is up to the patient to do what they can to supplement the treatment that was given to them by their practitioner.  At the end of the day, it’s you who will have to deal with the injury or disease and it’s up to you to choose how you want to live with it.

So all in all, though I continue to receive skeptical remarks from friends and family, my chiropractic experience was a positive one.  And though I’m sure there is variation in philosophy among chiropractic doctors, I do believe that there are a few out there who aren’t, to put it in the words of my own chiropractor, quacks.  Do your research, get references from people you trust, and above all, don’t be afraid to say no to your chiropractor (or any doctor) if you aren’t comfortable with the treatment that they’re proposing.

I’m sure you’ll all be happy to hear that my back is feeling much better now; and without even a single crack!

As soon as the clock strikes 4pm, I’m planning on dashing out of the office, getting into my car and onto the road for a solid 4 hour drive from Toronto to Ottawa.  In an ideal world, it should take about 4 to 4.5 hours.  However, it will realistically take longer.  It once took 7 hours over the Thanksgiving holidays!

I find that there is a very distinct point during this trip at which Toronto drivers seem to disappear and a calmer, less erattic driver remains on the road.  There are a couple of relatively uneventful hours and then you begin to encounter Ottawa traffic. It may sound odd to notice the traffic personalities of different cities, but I really believe that each city has its own traffic personality. 

I have been driving in Toronto for about 3 years now and I find myself taking transit more and more.  To travel 100 meters in 20 minutes, consistently get cut off by people thinking that getting one car ahead will let them get anywhere faster and to listen to the car behind me lean on the horn because I’m waiting for pedestrians to cross the street is just not worth the time or effort to drive.

I often wonder what it is that makes people so angry.  Are they really in such a hurry that it’s worth it to encounter at least a couple of near death experiences before arrivingat their destination?  Maybe not.  But apparently it’s worth creeping into the intersection up to the car in front of them on a red light and blocking half the intersection.  Didn’t you know that will save you 10 seconds?!

I know that Toronto traffic is tame compared to many other cities in the world and so I really shouldn’t be complaining.  I’ve experienced traffic in major cities such as New York, Jakarta and Rome.  But just because you’re better at something than someone else, doesn’t mean that what you are doing is good.

Toronto’s traffic issues may be related to volume.  It’s frustrating to sit bumper to bumper for more than half an hour then have to let someone else merge in front of you.  I haven’t even mentioned the constant construction in the city, nor the cyclists that drivers share the road with.

So perhaps the question isn’t what makes people so angry before they get in their cars.  It may very well be that being in the car is what makes people so angry.  What a vicious circle and one with no end in sight.

All I can hope for is that people take it easy tonight.  All I can actually control is my own reaction to others on the road and to remain cautious for my own safety.

I hear that Ottawa traffic is no longer as calm as I remember.  But then again, it’s all about perception.  How do you perceive your city’s traffic personality?

Our conversation turned to some words of wisdom that people have shared with us in the past and that have, perhaps surprisingly, stayed with us to help us to succeed in the various roles that we have taken on in the evolution of our young careers.

I often feel that some form of advice is dished out to me by just about every person I meet.  I have no intention of minimizing these well-intentioned words, however I will admit that the significance of these words is generally lost.   There are very few instances where I feel that words of advice have really had any significance to me.

Perhaps the volume of advice that we receive is to blame for these words falling on deaf ears.  But then again, perhaps we (and I very much include myself in the collective) need to work on our active listening skills a little bit more.  As my friend put it, It’s amazing what can happen when you put the burden aside and really take in what is being said to you.

I’ve learned that real advice can come from very unexpected sources.  It is often a question of putting my own judgments aside and be willing to take what can often be viewed as criticism since, in my experience, the most significant words have come from those who have made the most astute observations of my behaviour, nature and character.

Whether it’s a matter of digging through the coal for that one piece of gold or picking the piece that means the most to us, it will likely do us no harm to put aside the protective layering that we carry around everyday to shield us from the unwanted and actually take in a little bit of what we try so hard to keep out.

My to-do list had grown again since last Friday, and all I could think about was how much I’d rather still be in bed.  Suddenly, I seemed to hear a voice saying “Someone’s got a case of the Mondays!”

Let’s start with a clip from one of the most genius movies, or should I say documentaries, I’ve ever seen.

Seeing this movie as a student in high school, I enjoyed it for it’s comedic value, it’s seeming exaggeration of the workplace environment that I was striving to be a part of, and the movie’s ability to bring lightness to what I realistically thought might simply be monotonous days at work.

As someone who now works in an office environment, I can appreciate this movie so much more.  And while I don’t advocate bringing the fax machine outside and smashing it to bits, I think we can all relate to the frustration, the monotony and the repetitiveness that sometimes comes with working in an office.

Another genius creation is the TV sitcom The Office.  While I think the forced situations and uncomfortable colleague encounters are utterly hilarious, my parents have a very different view of the show.  They simply cannot believe that this show is an exaggeration of real life situations.

Whether these two examples are completely fictional or actually real-life exaggerations, they do highlight some issues that are of significant concern to many employers; mainly productivity.

I tend to think that productivity is simply a nice word created by employers to mean, Get 100% out of our employees, 100% of the time that they are on our watch.  Perhaps this is a little cynical or jaded.  But when it comes down to it, employers generally seem to fear the fact that their employees are not completely focused on work-related items for the entire workday.

Lucas McDonnell describes two unintended consequences that may result when companies try to restrict the freedom that employees have to “waste time while on the clock”;.  While restricting employees from certain websites may provide a short-term solution to preventing employees from wasting time, employees will ultimately find other ways to avoid, ignore, walk away, etc. from work for at least a few minutes of the day.

However, at the end of the day, the main message that is being sent to employees is that the employer doesn’t trust their employees enough to treat them as adults and allow them to manage their own time appropriately.  I highly doubt that this is the intended message of today’s employers.

It would do companies good to realise that they are in mutual relationships with their employees.  Just like any interpersonal relationship, both parties need to give a little in order to get a little.

Best Buy took an incredibly innovative approach to creating an open work environment and providing employees with the trust and respect that many workers crave. What is key in this example is that emphasis is placed on what employees are able to produce as opposed to how long they are able to sit in front of their work computers during the day.  The distinction between being present and being productive may seem ambiguous at first, but is an important distinction to make when managing people.

As far as I know, the Best Buy experiment has worked wonders at improving “productivity”.  I would be curious to know how the Best Buy experiment has evolved in the two years since this article was published.  If anyone has any info, or knows of any other companies who have addressed the issues of productivity differently, I’d love to hear from you.

Employers essentially need to realise that life happens.  Give employees the respect and trust to allow them to live their lives and I think companies will be pleasantly surprised at how much employees are willing to give back.

I didn’t think it was such a bad strategy as we all know that when you have been away from physical activity for some time, it’s always best to start slowly.

After noticing that some skills were coming back more quickly than expected, my coach pulled me aside last week and asked me “What do you want to get out of this?”.  I quickly responded with a blank stare and a shrug of my shoulders.

I was just having fun jumping around.  Why’d he have to make it all serious by asking me this question?!

However, it did make me stop and think for a while.  It made me think that this is a question that I, and perhaps many other people, tend not to ask ourselves.  Whether it’s a matter of avoiding the question or simply not realising the importance of such a question is a topic for another discussion however.

This simple question reminded me that we often participate in activities or do things with no clear picture of what we want to get out of it.  Perhaps we have been thrown into certain situations as a result of circumstances that are beyond our control.  We do things because we may feel obligated to do them.  Or we may do things because we think it’s “just for fun”.

Don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with doing things just for the fun of it.

But then again, there is no situation in which this question does not apply.   Never forget that by asking yourself this simple question and setting some simple goals, something fun or unexpected can very quickly become something accomplished.

That hasn’t stopped people from using the Wii Fit to some creative ends however. Injured athletes, for example, are getting rehabilitated by using the balance board. Doing the tedious and repetitive exercises required by rehab is a bit more fun when you can make it a game.

Other people have tried using the Wii Fit as an exercise tool — with varying success. Others have even wondered if the Wii Fit could be used to retrain the balance systems of people suffering from balance disorders.

I just hope I can get one soon to try it out!

After paying monthly membership fees for a year to one of the larger exercises facilities in Toronto, I decided to cancel my membership when I realised that I could count the number of times I actually went to the gym over the past year on one hand. Not a very good track record and I think rather hypocritical of me to not practice what I preach.

In any case, I decided that I needed to find something that I actually enjoyed. I remember being a kid and really loving to move around. I took all sorts of dance and gymnastics classes, not to mention loving school gym class and joining just about every school sports team that I could. When did exercise become such a chore?

Well, I recently decided to go back to what I love and sign up for some adult programs in Toronto. Let me tell you, it was the best exercise-related decision I have ever made!

I spent about 6 months on a waiting list before I was able to register for ballet classes at the National Ballet School of Canada last year. Don’t be intimidated by the name of the school. The adult program has classes for all skill levels including those who have never put on a pair of ballet shoes before and the teachers are wonderful at maintaining a balance between proper technique and dancing. Don’t think that ballet is just for girls either! There is a great mix of both men and women in all levels. If you were ever interested in ballet as a child, let me tell you that there is no such thing as too old to give it a go again.

Finally, I haven’t run away, but I have definitely joined the circus! Toronto School for Circus Arts offers some great classes that let you run around and jump off the walls while still getting a great workout. I’ve currently signed up for the more traditional strength and stretch class along with a tumbling class (reminiscent of my gymnastics days, but far more difficult and painful than what I remember!). The strength class uses an exercise ball for many of the exercises and it is one of the best workouts I have ever endured. There is absolutely no way of cheating your way through exercises when you are depending on the ball for “stability”.

The flexibility class is based on active isolated stretching. I was familiar with the theory behind this type of exercise, however the actual activity was new to me. I’ve gone to two classes so far and I have yet to master any of the positions in a way that engages any kind of meaningful stretch. However, these two classes have shown me several weaknesses in my body that I never would have noticed had I not engaged in such an exercise and, like anything else, the actual stretching will come with time and practice.

In a few months, I might consider trying out some of the other circus activities such as trapeze, trampoline, or aerial silks. But for now, I think I’ll take it slowly and stick with what I’m familiar with.

One of the cons of going the route of organized classes is that the upfront cost is probably higher than a simple gym pass. However, the definite pro, at least for me, is that I look forward to going to each of these classes every week, I make a point of not missing them and I absolutely love participating in these activities. The actual exercise is simply an added benefit.

I’m not discrediting the benefits of exercising at a gym. However, I think we sometimes forget that we can go back to the things we used to enjoy and still reap physical benefits while having fun.

While there’s quite a bit of debate about the ‘nofollow’ attribut, and whether it’s effective or not, I wanted to provide a small thank you for those commenter’s that take the time to write an insightful comment here — and that thank you is a link back to your site.

Don’t worry, this won’t change your experience on Healthy Simplicity whatsoever, except in the background where you’ll now get a nice link back to your site for taking the time to comment.

I know there haven’t been too many updates recently, but that’s mainly due to the work that’s being put into the new design. After the design is completed, I should be back to a more regular posting schedule.