Rebranding health!

Today I attended a webinar talk by Michelle Segar, PHD from university of Michigan titled Rebranding Health as Well-being.

Her talk was quite interesting & informative. She is an excellent speaker and an amazing researcher.

The talk re-inforced the notion that to engage in healthy behavior, people are not motivated by long-term gains and promises but rather by short-term rewards of feeling good and being satisfied. Emotions trump logic any day.

For example, people percieve exercising for future benefits of weight loss or lower blood presssure as merely a chore. They are likely not to pursue it for a sustainable gain. In contrast people who exercise to feel good, an instant motivator, tend to stay with it much longer. A healthier tomorrow is not as strong a motivator as feeling good today!

I fully agree with her. As my Mentor Dr. Richard Earle always mentions, satisfaction, or personal ROI, is the key to success in managing stressors and becoming healthier in the process. More on that later.