I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, witnessing, and experiencing. Even more, I couldn’t believe that I had found myself surrounded in a situation like this again, until of course the epiphany hit me square in the face this past week.
“I HAVE been here before. Shit!”
Habits habits habits. My how quickly we return to the self-destructive ones when we are utterly fed up with our experiences in life. Worse yet, being encouraged to continue certain behaviors often happens as a result of who we surround ourselves with in our social lives, or perhaps, who we DON’T associate with at all.
Allow me to explain.
Consider the person who is socially isolated: the working type, with no social support, and no real social outlets for healthy relationships. These people are at risk for heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.
Did you know that that addiction to drugs and alcohol most often become the basis for meaningful relationships among those who struggle with substance abuse? We aren’t just talking peer pressure here. Associating yourself with fellow users and abusers will transform you into one yourself.
Are your friends sabotaging your own efforts to eat smart and train hard? Social facilitation of how well you eat and train most certainly is a thing!
Consider the alternative, and ask some sobering questions.
Imagine your life one year from today, and actually physically write out how good you look, how good you feel, how vibrantly healthy you are when you simply make an effort to be healthy. More so, imagine who you are surrounded with. Who are your fit friends, what do you all do for recreation? Did you join a local athletic team to train for events? Who is your workout buddy? How healthy and fit are they?
A complete lack of the right social support will make your efforts to be healthy and remain healthy much harder than you anticipated. True, a call to action on an individual level is what will catapult your initial efforts to succeed in your diet and exercise routines, but having a coach, having healthy friends, practicing good clean mental habits and surrounding yourself with people who do the same is vital to your success. Be careful not to make the mistake in believing that you can tackle massive changes to your lifestyle on your own. Trust me. Been there. Done that. It doesn’t work. And I can bet that going solo won’t work for you either, unless you are doing the work with a team.
I caught myself out on a Saturday night, among a gathering of individuals in celebration mode over someone getting a new job. I listened carefully to the attitudes, behaviors, and statements made by everyone around this table. It hit me. We are all miserable. And an even more sobering reality: I am still a bit miserable myself, hence all the reckless hulabaloo to numb the senses. This epiphany had me quickly pay my respects at the table, and I left the establishment to do what my therapist had told me to do: get that REM sleep you missed out on for nearly two years.
I woke up in my bed the next morning asking a very sobering question: why am I doing this to myself? And the answer to that question was that I still have some hard work to do to overcome a very real problem in my head. To be frank, I made a phone call that morning to get back on track and start doing the hard work on the path towards recovery.
Now for those additional sobering questions: are you miserable? No, really. Have you experienced something in your life that makes you want to numb out the world? Even more, who are you surrounded by? Do they encourage you to be healthy, or are they part of the gang seated at the table of misery, re-enforcing the very people, places and things you wish to avoid?
WHO IS IN YOUR POSSE?
I am NOT convinced that the practice of nutrition and exercise habits are merely related to simple choice (i.e. the “Eat this not that. Lift this not that. ” kind of mentality). Instead, I am 110% convinced that all habits are proceeded by what we believe ourselves to be at our core, and those beliefs and habits will be reinforced by our environment (in this case, “environment” includes our social environment, and those we associate with when we living this thing called life). Do be careful with those thoughts and actions too, as repeating old patterns of behavior that are reinforced by a damaging posse can be annoying at best, and dangerous at worst.
I am two weeks out to my next big ass fitness journey, and tomorrow I am launching a comprehensive program to gear you up both mentally AND physically to become stronger than you ever thought possible. Not only that, you can join in on all the action online with a posse of strong people that will lift you up and encourage you along the way. STAY TUNED!
Can’t wait until tomorrow? WE GOT THIS! If you are looking for a support group of strong, courages, and brace people, join our Powerful Strength Coaching forum by clicking this link. This FREE forum is designed to talk about strength, in all aspects of our life, be it in our nutrition, training, or personal lives as well. Join a community of people that are committed to lifting everyone up to become the strongest, most powerful versions of themselves. Should you need more individualized coaching, please request a free consultation by clicking this link.
Let nothing stand in your way!
PRESS ON!
