December 2018
NEW YEAR, NEW APPROACH
By Shane Riffle, CEO, Brainerd Family
YMCA and volunteer co-chair of the Crow
Wing Energized Community Connections
Goal Group
Many reports find that the top
New Year’s resolutions are to diet and
eat healthier, and to exercise more
and lose weight – which on average,
63% of all people include on their lists.
According to Forbes, unfortunately, only
8% are successful and 8 out of 10 fail
by February. Health and fitness is a big
industry in the U.S., reporting about $26.7
billion in revenue for 2017.
Here is a description for a treadmill,
“provides a motivating entertainment-
enhanced fitness experience.” On
television, ads promote nutrition programs
guaranteed to succeed. Apps on our
phone link to smart watches which can
track inactivity, heart rate, sleep patterns
and more. Where does the answer lie?
And why is it that year after year, only 8 or
9 percent of those who form New Year’s
resolutions reach their goals?
Behavioral research has strong data
indicating that many people’s approach
is all wrong. Too often, success has
been measured in pounds lost, and it
is believed that health, happiness and
fitness will follow. The motivation is
extrinsic, and while there might be a
short-term gain, it usually is not lasting.
When we shift this paradigm and take
a behavioral approach, it is possible to
build intrinsic motivation, which can lead
Grants
Crow Wing Energized grants are
available to support efforts to move our
community to a place where the healthy
choice is the easy choice. In 2018, nearly
$75,000 in grant dollars were awarded to
local schools, workplaces and community
organizations to support health and
wellness activities. Those awarded grants
“It is also important that people
find a solution that they enjoy
and does not force their heart
and mind to disagree.”
to lasting and transformational change.
At the root, many people are at different
places in their “readiness to change,”
and how you move toward preparing for
change, making change, and sustaining
change is different for many people. One
size does not fit all.
Why not start with envisioning a
healthy you and what that looks and feels
like. What are the benefits of creating
change? Starting with this foundation, the
conversation can change from “I won’t”
or “I can’t” to “I may,” “I will,” “I am,” and
eventually, “I still am.” A certified Health
Coach can help provide the initial and
supplied in-kind support of over $210,000.
Workplace Wellness Grants are now
open with a deadline of the second Friday
of each month through May 2019. Contact
Cassie Carey for more information at:
cassie.carey@essentiahealth.org or call
at 218-828-7443.
The last round of Healthy Schools
Grants currently open, with a deadline of
Dec. 18, 2018. To learn more and get an
on-going support to help people believe in
themselves and build skills they need to
become who they want to be. By building
a personal vision of health, individuals or
even groups can work collaboratively to
build SMART goals (specific, measurable,
action oriented, relevant, and timed)
focusing on a “small steps” approach to
change. A professional coach, or support
program such as the National Diabetes
Prevention Program or the YMCA Healthy
Weight and Your Child, take an evidence-
based approach to change. Central to
any coaching philosophy is that people
are whole and have the answers inside of
them.
Treadmills, weights and fitness
classes are all wonderful tools and should
be seen as such. It is also important that
people find a solution that they enjoy
and does not force their heart and mind
to disagree. These individual tools are
not the answer. The answer lies within
each of us. For those who struggle and
have followed the start, stop, try, fail
model, your first step might be to sit
down and engage in conversation with
a coaching professional or to register for
a local (evidence-based) program. With
your personal vision, social support and
attainable goals, you are more likely to
reach your destination.
This year, take a look at your health
through a different lens. Choose a path
that will work for you, where you find the
support to develop what is already within
you to live your best life.
application, visit http://crowwingenergized.
org/grants or contact Kalsey Stults at
Kalsey.Stults@EssentiaHealth.org or
218-828-7343.
The Community Grants are made
available through Statewide Health
Improvement Partnership (SHIP) and
Essentia Health St. Joseph’s Medical
Center funding that was awarded to Crow
Wing Energized.
 The Importance
of Social and
Emotional
Intelligence:
Becoming Our
Top 20 Selves
Everyone is invited to join the
December Mental Fitness Goal Group
meeting Thursday, Dec. 13, 9:00-10:30
a.m. at Essentia Health – St. Joseph’s
Medical Center, Thabes 1 meeting room
meeting to hear Alison Medeck present
on Becoming Our Top 20 Selves. Top
20 Training is a focus on developing
awareness and skills in order to be our
most effective selves by how we think,
learn and communicate, providing
simple, yet powerful concepts; exercises
and materials to rebalance thinking at
the most basic level. Tapping into the
insights of social-emotional training,
Top 20 Training helps bring out the
best in individuals, families, teams and
organizations, so that all can reach their
highest potential and make a positive
difference in the quality of their lives,
relationships and experiences.
Workplace Wellness
Conference Experiences
Record Attendance
Kay King, NAMI MN, lead attendees
through a brain dump exercise
Close to 100 community leaders
attended the 2nd Annual Workplace
Wellness Conference, learning ways to
increase resiliency in the workplace.
A grassroots community health and
wellness movement led and funded by
(NDPP) Train the Trainer
Become a certified lifestyle coach
by taking this two-day course so you
can learn how to facilitate and utilize
the evidence-based curriculum for the
National Diabetes Prevention Program
(NDPP) by supplying diabetes prevention
education and support to people with pre-
diabetes.
Help support those to lose weight,
increase physical activity, develop
problem solving skills and coping
skills. This two-day course will prepare
participants to launch at least one NDPP
class offering over the course of the
next year. Trained instructors lead 16
group sessions offered over 6 months,
and 6 monthly follow-up sessions for the
remainder of the year.
When: Jan. 8 and 9, 2019, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Where: Essentia Health-St. Joseph’s
Medical Center, Thabes, 523 North Third
St, Brainerd
Register: Training is free ($750 value),
but registration is required.
For more information contact:
Kara.Schaefer@EssentiaHealth.org
All trained NDPP coaches will be
expected to facilitate at minimum of one
year long course following being trained.
http://crowwingenergized.org/events
SAVE THE DATE
6th Annual Health and Wellness
SUMMIT
Feb 8
Friday
For more information email
Cassie.Carey@CrowWingEnergized.org
Classes Starting
January 2019
Learn how to create a healthier
lifestyle and prevent diabetes in a 22
session diabetes prevention program.
Groups meet with a trained instructor to
help participants lose weight, eat healthier
and increase physical activity. There are
16 sessions offered over 6 months, and
6 monthly follow-up sessions for the
remainder of the year. Each session is
one-hour long. The National Diabetes
Prevention Program is a community-
based, lifestyle change program that
offers diabetes prevention education and
support for people with pre-diabetes.
Prediabetes involves blood sugar levels
that are higher than normal, but not yet
high enough to be diabetes. An individual
with pre-diabetes can delay or prevent
type 2 diabetes by making simple lifestyle
changes. Diet and moderate exercise
resulting in a five to ten percent weight
loss (usually about 10 - 15 pounds) often
work to bring blood sugar levels back
down to a healthy range. There is no fee
for this class ($429 value).
Questions: contact Kara Schaefer
Email Kara.Schaefer@Essentiahealth.org
or call 218-454-5901. Register online:
http://crowwingenergized.org/events
Choose a location/day/time:
n Trinity Lutheran Church in Brainerd
on Sundays at 9:20 a.m., starting
Jan. 6, 2019
n Pequot Lakes City Hall on Mondays at
4:30 p.m., starting Jan. 7, 2019
n Bremer Bank in Brainerd on Tuesdays
at 7:00 a.m., starting Jan. 8, 2019
n Brainerd Dispatch on Fridays at
1:00 p.m., starting Jan. 11, 2019
n Essentia Health – Baxter Clinic on
Mondays at 10:30 a.m., starting
Jan. 14, 2019
n Essentia Health – Baxter Clinic on
Tuesdays at 5:00 p.m., starting
Jan. 15, 2019