How to get your family/friends on board with good health
How to Encourage Others to Join Your Health Journey
You’re finally taking steps toward prioritizing your health. You’re working on moving, hydrating, and nourishing your body with real food. You’re getting to bed on time so you can wake up and plan your day. You are seeing some real changes, and you are excited about your progress. You want to share this excitement and momentum for positive change with the people you are closest to. How do you start?
The Big Why
It is always best to begin at the beginning, and the beginning of a health journey is to ask the question: WHY do I want this? This is the best place to begin a conversation with your significant other as well. Any kind of “should” talk will not be motivating, but a conversation that centers on how much you love and care for your partner, and how much you want them to be whole, healthy, and happy for as many years as you have together will open the door to the kinds of questions that can get you moving. Try honestly sharing your struggles and successes, and then ask some questions and listen carefully to the answers. It’s important to remember that a person has to want it for themselves, and you may not be able to rush that process. Practice compromise and supporting one another as you move at your own pace.
Questions to Ask and Answer Together
- What is one area of your health you’d like to focus on?
- What do you see as your primary obstacle?
- How can I support you?
- What is one thing we can stop, and one thing we can start, that will move our health in the direction we want it to go?
Plan Together
When you’ve identified your reasons together and decided on some actions to take, spend some time actually planning how you will take those steps. There may be habits to rethink. Spend some time planning for what you want to do, and also some time planning for what you might do if you end up having to make a change. If you decide to cut down on take-out, and plan a weeks’ worth of meals, what will happen if you have to work late and don’t have time to cook? Having a healthy option for take-out in the back of your mind will help you make a better choice in that situation than if you try to push through with your original plan, or just give up and head to the nearest fast-food joint.
Encourage One Another
Simply affirming one another on your journey can help you get through the tough moments. Take opportunities to speak good over one another’s lives. Positive words contribute to a positive environment.
“I know you can do this.”
“I love you and I’m proud of you.”
“We’re in this together.”
Here’s a list of simple first steps that can get you started today.
Simple First Steps
- Take a walk together every day. It could be to start the day, or before or after dinner. A little time to move your body, release stress, and connect in conversation can be a start.
- Make a salad with dinner every night, and eat it first.
- Decide to drink only water with meals, and stop buying juice, soda, and other sweetened beverages.
- Decide on a time to turn off the screens to prepare your minds for sleep.
- Schedule a weekly planning time, and turn it into a date.
For a resource chock-full of healthy and delicious meals, check out Eating On Purpose.