If you’ve decided to pursue a healthy lifestyle, no matter where you are along your journey, you can find it challenging to be surrounded by people who don’t share the same goals. They might eat unhealthy food, neglect exercise, or refuse to kick vices and bad habits. So how can you be a positive influence and effectively share your best wellness practices with others?
Lead the way
Anybody who wants to be a leader has to lead by example. Most people have some idea of how to live a healthy life – which foods provide proper nutrition, and which ones are bad for you, for example. The bigger problem can be a lack of immediate, positive influence in their lives.
Be a role model; commit to always eating healthy food, eliminating harmful habits, and exercising daily. Let the people in your life see that lifestyle change is possible by witnessing it firsthand in someone they know.
Involve your family and friends
When you become an example of how to embrace a healthy lifestyle, the people you are most likely to influence are those nearest to you; immediate family and close friends. This doesn’t mean it will be easy; any parent who’s had to convince their kids to finish their vegetables can tell you otherwise.
Still, these are the people who matter and probably spend the most time with you. Come up with a fun workout idea to convince them to exercise more, or a delicious and healthy dish to get them eating properly, and you’ll have no trouble influencing more distant relatives or acquaintances.
Help your community
Looking beyond your immediate social circle, you can find several ways to improve health in your community. Volunteer programs let you donate food or offer your assistance in procuring and preparing food for local causes. Schools can provide opportunities for you to introduce kids to healthy food, or guide them through exercise programs and build those into daily habits. And if you feel like there’s a lack of suitable programs in the area, you can reach out to local organizations or businesses to start initiatives for giving back to the community.
Spread correct information
Social media has been a powerful platform for bringing people together and sharing knowledge, but with so much online activity going unregulated or unfiltered, misinformation can also spread quickly. It’s critical to counter this when it comes to health education. You can make a difference by taking your influence online and using different techniques to combat misinformation. Debunk fake news at every opportunity, using reliable sources; connect with experts to resolve situations where your knowledge on an issue might be incomplete.
Make it a career
Playing a part in helping others lead a healthy life doesn’t just have to be volunteer work. You can take a training or certification program to become a health coach, for instance, and get into the healthcare industry. This allows you to support yourself with income from doing work that you love and find meaningful. It also gives you the chance to be more closely involved with each client and give them tailor-fit guidance to identify underlying problems and take the best steps to improve each day.
Leading a healthy lifestyle is an individual choice. Still, you can go above and beyond this goal by helping others overcome their difficulties and guiding them towards a longer, more enjoyable, and fulfilling life.
