5 Ways the People in Your Life Can Support Your Health

I never dreamed I would be a health coach/personal trainer, advising on nutrition, fitness, and stress management. Just three years ago, I had a diet of ramen and beefy 5-layer burritos, smoked half a pack of cigarettes a day, and had social anxiety. It wasn’t until I hit an all-time low that I began to change for the better.

I am happy to say that I now put vegetables in my ramen, haven’t smoked in 2 and a half years, and am no longer chronically anxious around others. A big part of this change is due to all the people in my life who have encouraged me to lead a healthy lifestyle.

It took humility and honesty with myself that I needed the help of others. I have learned that social support is essential to a fulfilling life, healthy mind, and especially uplifting while incorporating a new behavior change. Here are some quick tips to maximizing your support network:

 

1.Spread the word

Bill Withers said it best in the hit song “Lean on Me.”

“Please swallow your pride, if I have things you need to borrow, for no one can fill those of your needs, that you won’t let show.”

The first step to gain social support on your journey is to tell your family and friends about your desired change and ask for support. If you express your initiative in a sincere manner and ask for ongoing encouragement, you can empower others to be positive influences on your journey. Let them know why you are making that change. This will help solidify your motives, help others to empathize, and give you some accountability.

Most likely, each person you tell is going to appreciate your goals, and many will encourage you or, who knows, you might just inspire someone. This can be a tough thing to do because we are admitting that we are not where we want to be. Not only does it take hope and discipline. Self- improvement requires humility, acceptance, and vulnerability.

 

2. Find a partner or group

Find someone to join you or join a group/club, and you are setting yourself up for success. These people are going to be there for you when you are unmotivated or tempted to relapse and vice versa! Plus, everything is more fun with a friend!

Once you find your buddy, you can support one another, standing on common ground. You can challenge one another and incorporate some friendly, rewards-based, competition that doesn’t condemn the loser or allow for the undesired behavior. For example, setting a process goal to make it to the gym together on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday for 2 weeks in a row. If both of you complete the goal, then you will go out to lunch together. It can be simple but powerful, because you are in it together!

Joining a larger group activity can be scary, so first see if your BFF or partner will join with you. Whether you’ve got a partner in crime, or flying solo, don’t be afraid to jump on into an intramural or club sport, a university-led camping trip, or one of the many health-oriented clubs on campus. Or, spread your wings outside of the university into community sports, gyms, religious gatherings, or at your place of work.

3. Use the internet community

Maybe you are incorporating more fruits and veggies, trying to go on more walks, or you are cutting nicotine out of your life, like I was. There are so many resources online created by people who want to give back to their community. Google the change you are trying to make for encouragement and to connect with someone who has been successful. There are helplines, forums, YouTube videos, social media platforms, and much more to help you. Use these resources to your advantage!

Using the internet to find someone to interact with was the most beneficial step for me when I was quitting nicotine. While reading blog articles and watching YouTube videos can be very informative, they can also be misleading and not interactive. A word to the wise is to consciously filter the information that you get online and look for information that is promoting evidence-based information and that is life-giving. Lastly, if you are on social media, post about your desire to change or contact someone directly on these platforms about their experience.

 

4. Hire a professional

This is the way to go if you want to fast track your progress. Depending on your needs, you may choose to hire health coaches, personal trainers, dietitians, physical therapist, counselors, financial consultants (financial health!), or life coaches. Remember that these professionals are there to partner with you on your journey. Professionals have spent a portion of their life mastering the subject at hand. Doing so has given them wisdom that goes beyond knowledge and will save you from the headaches and rabbit holes that come with learning something new. Really, this is just a very educated accountability partner.

By hiring someone to help you, you are also putting more value into your future success. You are making an investment in your future that is going to make you more likely to follow through. While it might be tempting to just meet with this professional once, the magic can truly happen when you set up a series of sessions and track your progress.

For NAU students, you can try us out for free. That first session is FREE, so what do you have to lose? We find that some amazing things happen when our clients decide to pay the $20 for a series of 6 sessions. Changing a behavior isn’t easy. It helps to have someone to talk to throughout the process. We can help you set small, achievable goals and build on those over time.

 

5. Set boundaries to keep negativity out

Whether you notice it or not, we are very influenced by the attitudes of the people in our lives. Ultimately, your family and friends have good intentions to treat you well and be supportive, but we all deal with emotions and situations differently and it is possible that the words and actions of others can hinder your progress. Sometimes the ones we love can be judgmental, pessimistic, jealous, risk averse, controlling, hopeless, or demanding. If you feel that there are some negative social influences in your life here are a few tips:

• Balance out your time with unsupportive people by scheduling time with supportive people.
• Try to understand the reason for their negative input. Perhaps they are fearful of failure, or have had traumatic experiences in the past.
• Set limits on the amount of time you allow yourself to spend with unsupportive people.
• Prepare yourself with loving ways to respond to negative comments.
• Lastly, when you set boundaries and ask for support and positivity, there may be some defensiveness and negativity that arises. Don’t internalize it. Make your request, and if the other person can’t honor your request, set more boundaries with that person and move on.

Lastly, by being supportive of others’ progress, you can show people that you want to be treated in the same manner. By making an intention to be encouraging and express hopefulness for the future when you are with others, UCAN be the change you want to see in the world!