Willett Watch
Making those New Year's resolutions stick
Although most New Year's resolutions are begun with the best of intentions, inevitably they don't add up to lasting change. With that in mind, the Paris Well Being Team is holding a workshop that could help change your life.
Leeanne Bolch BSW, MSW, RSW, has worked with the Team to prepare a free health seminar that will help individuals plan to make changes in their lives.
On Sunday, January 22 nd , from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Leeanne, a professional counsellor, will be helping those who know they would like to change but haven't been able to. She will be focusing on how to bring about lifestyle changes that stick.
The idea for the seminar has been evolving for a number of months now. According to Cindy Winters, the Chair of the Paris Well-being Team, “we knew that people were interested in getting fit, losing weight and eating healthy.”
The Team realized that there is certainly a lot of knowledge out there on those subjects, but it led to the question, “Why don't we do it?”
This workshop is designed to help individuals address that issue in their own lives. Participants will be asked to assess their motivation and readiness to create change in their lives. Leeanne will share some tips to help get “unstuck” and finally succeed. As well she will address some of the irrational fears such as, “it's in my genes”, or “it hasn't worked before, why try now”, that people use to defeat change.
Leeanne will be looking at change in six stages.
- Pre-contemplation - where you aren't really looking at changing, even though someone may have brought the subject up.
- Contemplation - you are ambivalent towards change but considering it. You may weigh the pros and cons of the change at this time.
- Determination - you are moved to action and may experiment with small changes in your life.
- Action - This is when you make plans and take the necessary steps towards your end goal.
- Sustaining change - an exciting period where you see the results of the change which helps motivate you to continue.
- Maintenance - takes place over time and involves creating the right support system in your environment and/or your family.
She stresses that people involved in making changes not be too hard on themselves when they relapse. This is a common problem and the solution is simply starting again since it gets easier each time.
By the end of the seminar, participants will have the tools to recognize whether they are ready for change and where they may be at on the change “scale”.
When we do have a success, Leeanne suggests that we celebrate it and reward ourselves in some way. That is a good way to stay motivated.
Karen Kuzmich, Coordinator of Wellness and Healthcare Integration at the Willett, says that lifestyle change is essential to address many of the issues involved in chronic disease management, an area of focus for the Willett, “we have many clients who struggle with these same issues. This fits in very well with a number of our programs.”
If you are interested in making some lasting changes in your life, please call 442-4000, extension 6332 to reserve a seat. This would also be a good opportunity to see some of the changes taking place at the Willett. The seminar will take place in the new education room which is part of the renovations currently taking place at the Willett.
Meanwhile the Paris Well-being Team is busy planning for their next big event which will be the Volunteer Fair to be held February 11 th at Telfer Place .
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