{"id":81,"date":"2017-01-06T16:47:57","date_gmt":"2017-01-06T16:47:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.willclower.com\/Medwell_blog\/?p=81"},"modified":"2017-10-25T16:51:48","modified_gmt":"2017-10-25T16:51:48","slug":"how-to-improve-employee-ny-resolution-outcomes-manage-expectations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/Medwell_blog\/?p=81","title":{"rendered":"How To Improve Employee NY Resolution Outcomes? Manage Expectations."},"content":{"rendered":"
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New Year\u2019s Resolutions are a model for failure. The annual tradition of making resolutions are abandoned a whopping 80% of the time by February 14th. How do we as benefits\/wellness professionals respond to these overwhelming odds?<\/p>\n

Below are three solutions, ranked by how easy they are to execute.<\/p>\n

\"\"1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Throw up your hands and do nothing, figuring that this is some kind of annual ritual like trick-or-treating and hot dog eating contests that you are powerless to stop or improve.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Coach your people to avoid resolutions altogether, so they might avoid the inevitable failure.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Create a structure that supports success.<\/p>\n

I expect that the\u00a0first<\/u>\u00a0solution is practiced most often, with the idea being that if you don\u2019t try, you won\u2019t fail. The\u00a0second<\/u>\u00a0solution is a more active form of the first, because it assumes that the ritual is irredeemably flawed. The\u00a0third<\/u>\u00a0solution is the toughest to achieve, but the one that provides the best long term outcomes.<\/p>\n

Manage The Expectations Bar<\/strong><\/p>\n

People need support to get started with anything. Part of this support involves just knowing what to do. And although the advice to “eat right and exercise” seems dirt-simple, the intellectual noise in this world creates conflicting claims about almost everything. This, in turn, creates confusion that can leave a person hesitant to try something on their own.<\/p>\n

On a more fundamental level, some folks are more comfortable following simple step-wise instructions to make sure they do the process correctly. It’s like cooking from a recipe that lays out every detail of what do add, when, and how. If you’re not a cook already, this kind of guidance is what you need.<\/p>\n

So if you were to create a structure for employees — a recipe for resolution success this year — what would that look like?<\/p>\n

First, it would need to be step-wise, with clear guidance on the 1-2-3 of it all. Next it must be simple so that most people in most circumstances can execute the instructions. And finally, for our ADHD culture, it should be doable in a short amount of time. In essence, the structure need to direct a series of interim goals created as via points en route to the longer term end.<\/p>\n

This is a framework that can facilitate success by making things simpler, and by managing the expectations bar in the near term. Instead of creating a goal of running a marathon, create a goal of getting off the couch. Instead of creating a wanting to make all your own food all the time, how about just making your food once per week.<\/p>\n

Once the simple short term goal is met, participants can then move their goal up a notch and have another manageable bar to reach. This keeps the focus on simple next steps, in order to reach their ultimate destination in the long term.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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