When you are trying to make healthy lifestyle change one of the hardest things can be the lack of support or even open ridicule of those around you. People can be quite confronted by your choices, as if you were making a personal attack on the lifestyle they are accustomed to. So choosing to surround yourself with people who support your choices can be very important to your journey.
I have been very fortunate that throughout the years I have had a large number of fantastic mentors to help me along the way. Some of these have been practitioners I have seen, some have been seminars I have been to, some have been wonderful books or websites I have read and others have been just good mates who are on a similar journey. Whatever the source, I have learnt a lot. In fact pretty much everything you have read in my columns, on my website or even in my forthcoming book has been begged, borrowed or stolen from one of these mentors.
So who are you surrounding yourself with? Are they helping or hindering your journey?
Now I am not by any means saying ditch all your old friends, but you may need to complement them with a few more positive mentors. What should you look for in a good mentor? Well, there are several factors. They need to have more knowledge than you. They need to have more passion and/or discipline than you. They need to be further along their journey than you. They need to be a better problem-solver than you to help tailor your wellness changes. They would also need to be able to help you set achievable goals and action steps.
Sounds like an impossible person to find, doesn't it? Well the good news is that these don't all need to be one person. There may be different people or even books or websites that help to mentor you in each of these areas. In fact you may even have different people for different aspects of your health and wellness. The person you turn to for dietary advice may be very different to the person who helps you think more positively. And the person who helps you learn what a good diet is may not be the best person to motivate you to do it, or plan your meals.
So start finding yourself some wellness mentors. Don't worry, they are all around you if you look, and they will make your journey to wellness much easier!
Do you utilise a mentor?
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