Tools for Achieving behavior Change

Changing health-related behaviors is a difficult challenge. Incorporate the
tools below into your Wellness initiatives to assist members in successfully
changing health behaviors.

Tool #1: Establish effective goals

• Focus on areas that can impact the overall goal.
• By way of example, if the overall goal is to lose weight, the most productive
  areas to focus on are the activity and dietary changes that will lead to long-term
  weight loss.
• By way of example, stress management and improving self-esteem may also
  impact weight loss; however, improving relationships, while a worthy topic,
  will not necessarily impact weight loss.
• Make the goals specific, attainable, and forgiving. By way of example:
• “Exercise more” is too general.
• “Walk five miles everyday” is specific, but may not be attainable.
• “Walk 30 minutes everyday” is specific and more attainable,
  but is not very flexible.
• “Walk 30 minutes, five days a week” is specific, attainable,
  and forgiving.
• Use a series of short-term goals to achieve the ultimate goal.
• Short-term goals break big challenges into more easily attained pieces.
• Smaller steps also provide Employee Wellness Plan members with encouragement
  and success. These small successes are essential for maintaining motivation
  towards a long-term goal.

Tool #2: Increase self-awareness

Self-monitoring is useful for tracking behavioral and environmental cues that
trigger a particular behavior.

Keeping track of behavior status is also useful for times when progress towards
a goal is difficult to measure, or when an individual is in a maintenance stage.

Tool #3: Offer rewards and motivation

• Encourage members to reward themselves for achieving small successes on
  the way to their ultimate goal.
• Remember that rewards don’t always have to be “things.”
  Words of encouragement and praise can provide powerful motivation when spoken
  by a teacher, instructor, parent, friend, etc.

Tool #4: Respond effectively to set-backs

• behavior change is conceptually a continuum. However, movement along that
  continuum is not just in one direction. People can move backwards or forwards
  or sometimes just stay put. Communicate to members that set-backs, lapses
  and even staying the same (i.e., maintenance) are common for individuals trying
  to change behavior.
• Stress is often a factor in lapses and relapses. Offer a variety of stress
  management resources to help members better handle the stress which could
  trigger a set-back.
• Brain storm to create a list of potential (and probable) obstacles to participant
  behavior change. Then formulate strategies to meet each of those challenges.
• Enhanced time management and decision-making skills can be effective ways
  to overcome behavior change relapses.
• Offer members with information regarding the behavior change process so
  that they will be better prepared for the challenges they will face. A brief
  overview of the Stages of Change may be helpful.