How You Can Help Others with Healthy Choices
By Sara Butler
Look at you – working hard to eat right and exercise more. You know how hard it can be and how much support you need to keep going each day. When people in your life are at the precipice of change and looking to make healthier choices, you want to offer them the support they need to be successful. How can you motivate someone to feel as good as you and reach for larger goals? Here are a few tips to help you be a source of healthy inspiration in someone else’s life.
What You Shouldn’t Do
You know the old saying about leading horses to water – you can’t motivate someone else and shouldn’t expect to. What you can do is inspire someone else by giving them the information they need to make choices and offering support when things get tough. But you can’t make someone change their behavior unless they want to. Their desire to make healthy changes and choices in their lives has to come from inside them, not from you.
The truth of the matter is that until someone wants to change, they simply won’t. You could make the best argument and be the biggest cheerleader they have, but until they make the choice, it’s all up to them.
What You Should Do
If there’s someone in your life you would like to jump on the health bandwagon with you and you’re wondering what you can do to give them a nudge, then you should:
- Listen – Your job is not to correct, preach, or persuade someone to change. People stuck in behaviors that aren’t healthy know what the problem is and what they need to do to fix it. If you sit back and lend them a friendly ear, then they’re more likely to talk themselves into changing. So listen and let them do the talking.
- Be an example – You don’t have to say a word to show someone what they could be. Show them how much better you feel since adopting healthier lifestyle choices and simply be an example of what the future could hold for them if they just take the leap.
If you want your partner or your kids to join you on your healthy crusade, then simply continue being who you are. No amount of talking can persuade them, but showing them just how great life can be when you’re healthy will speak for itself.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Woodbury, Minn.