Insights into changing habits to improve health, financial well-being, and personal effectiveness.

Getting out of debt
by Hal Morgan
When your debt total is going up instead of down it can leave you feeling trapped, desperate, and not in control of your life. You can feel that someone else “owns” you, to the point that you deny yourself the breaks and pleasures you need to stay healthy and happy. A debt problem can drain your sense of confidence and self-worth. It can lead to depression, unhealthy anxiety, and health problems. The booklet is available as part of the LifeWorks program.

You can quit: giving up tobacco
by Hal Morgan
Quitting tobacco is the best gift you can give to yourself and to those who love you. When you give up cigarettes or smokeless tobacco for good, you become healthier, you have more energy, and you are more likely to live a long and healthy life. Of course, quitting isn’t easy—you already know this if you’ve tried to stop using tobacco in the past—but it certainly is possible. The 46 million ex-smokers in this country are proof of that. The interactive workbook is available as part of the LifeWorks program.

Is long-term weight loss possible?
Two thought-provoking pieces in The New York Times challenge our assumptions about dealing with obesity. The research should certainly push us to rethink our approaches to obesity, dieting, and exercise, whether we our goal is to improve our personal health, the health of employees in our organizations, or the health of our communities.

Why exercise is not the key driver of weight loss
Exercise has huge physical and mental health benefits, but is surprisingly ineffective as a driver of weight loss. Research suggests a diminishing return from extra exercise—either our baseline metabolism adjusts downward or we become less active in the hours we are not exercising. There are important lessons here, both for our personal health and for how we frame messages and create tools to influence population health.