Reading Time: 2 minutesHello friends, and welcome to this month’s Joyinmovement newsletter,
It’s American Thanksgiving month. And while I am going to touch on the topic of giving thanks, I think you’ll find this newsletter contains some unusual information as well as my unique take on things.
When I dig deep asking myself what I’m thankful for, one of the answers that keeps coming up is, “I’m thankful that I’m AWARE.” You see, I believe that the choices we make and the paths we choose all begin with awareness. If we’re awake and aware, we’ll better understand what choices to make so that we live our lives in the healthiest ways possible.
The reason I’m talking about awareness this month is that I know as 2010 winds down, many of us will be looking back and assessing the past year and setting our sights on 2011. And over and over again, one topic in particular that has a major influence on our lives and that we all need to be AWARE of is our social networks.
No, I’m not talking about Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, and actually I’m going to let someone else do the talking for me. I’d like to introduce you to Dr. Nicholas Christakis.
Dr. Nicholas Christakis is a pioneer in the field of health and social networks. In this video he talks about how our social networks influence our actions, attitudes, and in the end, our whole lives.
Without giving away too much of what he talks about, because I REALLY want you to watch this video, did you know for instance, that both your happiness and body size are influenced by your friends? If your friends are obese you have a 45% higher chance of being obese yourself. That’s not all. The friends of your friends influence YOU as well!
Collective sets of beliefs and actions from the people we know and the people they know influence us as well. It’s really quite amazing and provides lots of food for thought.
I know the idea of social support and its role and importance in our lives may be nothing new, but I do believe that Dr. Christakis’s presentation will have an effect on you. Sure, we may all realize that it’s easier to train for an athletic event when we have buddies to train with, or to keep up a Yoga practice when you attend class, or to make body composition changes when you work with a trainer, but watch the video and allow Dr. Christakis to show you where that anecdotal evidence that you already experience comes from.
As you look towards the New Year and set your intentions for your health, fitness and personal development, it’s essential to take into account your own social network. Did the people you surrounded yourself with in 2010 have a healthy, happy, we-can-do-it attitude? If so, give thanks. If not, make some changes so that you’ll improve your chances of feeling great, looking great and reaching your performance goals.
Until next month, let me know what you thought of the video and keep the JOYinmovement flowing!
shelli
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