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Jun
23
Love and Health
Filed Under Communication, Motivation
One of the articles I linked to in yesterday’s weekend roundup spoke about the importance of social networks when it came to health. A social network is your friends and family, the people who are close to you and provide you with support. A good social network reduces stress and gives you someone to rely on. They encourage, motivate and accept you. A bad social network stresses, discourages and demoralizes you. Today, I’d like to focus on one particular part of your social network, your partner.
Of All The Wonderful Things My Wife Helps Me With, This I Appreciate The Most
My wife is an amazing person, something I don’t tell her enough . She’s smart, creative, funny and beautiful. She’s been an incredibly positive influence in my life. For all the great things I could thank her for, it’s her support that I appreciate the most.
When I need help, she’s there. If I need someone to talk to, she’s there. If I have an idea and I need someone to talk about it with, she’s there. We support each other through school, work, new puppies and moving houses. This support has proven to be invaluable for me in so many areas, health being one of them.
How Does Support = Good Health?
My wife and I don’t workout together. We’ve tried but it just didn’t work out. We’re still planning to take a few classes together but for the most we work out separately. Yet, her support is still there when I work out.
- She motivates me through some days when I’m not really thinking about working out. I think of her and of the long and healthy life I wish to lead with her and I start exercising again.
- She helps me make good decisions. For example, when I say “Let’s go to the buffet!” she points out that just the week before I said buffets were bad for me.
- She helps me when I’m stressed just by being there and giving me someone to talk to.
What To Do?
The first and most important item is communication. If you want feedaback you need to provide information. If you want support, you need to communicate. That’s a lesson I’ve learned myself. It’s a hard lesson to learn, especially for someone used to being independent and self sufficient, but there’s an amazing amount of return on this one. Some examples:
- If you’re planning to make some effort to change your health, communicate about it with your partner. Tell them why you’re doing it and what you’re planning to do.
- If you’re having a problem and trying to figure out a solution, communicate with your partner. Tell them what the problem is and ask them for their opinion. Even if you think you know more about fitness and health than your partner, they might have insight on you that you missed. It’s amazing how the people close to us see our habits in ways we never imagined.
- If you need motivation, think about your partner. It’s hard sometimes to visualize good health and remember why it’s so important. It’s not that hard to visualize your loved ones and think about all the good years you hope to enjoy with them.
What If I’m Single?
Well, getting a partner just for better health is probably a bad idea. Instead, why not find a friend who you’re close to and can serve in the same function? How about a sibling or parent? They’ve known you all your life and probably have a lot of useful insight into who you are. Good friends are a great options since they’re supportive and spend a lot of time with you. Remember, you’re not looking for a workout partner here, you’re looking for a communication partner. You need someone you can talk to, not someone to jog with. If you can also jog with them then that’s great, but it’s not the main goal.
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Find someone you care about and who cares about you and then communicate. That’s it, it really is that simple. The benefits, health and otherwise, are immense.
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2 Responses to “Love and Health”
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I agree with you. Having a supporting partner, family and friends is critical along your weight management journey. Successful weight loss hinges on dicipline and support. Thats why i think that having the structure, process and support of a weight loss program is so important. It gives you a frame work and support by the program facilitators. I feel that a weight loss program is even more critical if you dont have a supporting social network.
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