What kind of crowd are you running with?
I was honored to have a chat with Dr. Amy Acton the other day (remember her from the pandemic updates when we were all isolated?) and it made me think about the importance of our support systems. Your crowd, your “wolfpack,” your tribe, your people, your posse. Call it what you want. We are wired to be around people (in the appropriate doses of course) and it’s vital to your health.
I remember when I was little and especially during those teenage years when my parents always wanted to know who I was hanging out with. I thought they were so nosy and judgy. Why did they want to know everything about my friends? Did they think I was so passive that I would just do whatever my friends were doing without using my judgment? Well they probably kind of did. And I probably kind of did.
Well, not totally. I was surrounded by a group of great friends and, though I made my share of mistakes, I didn’t get in too much trouble. And overall I think I turned out okay. But my parents knew one very important thing… We are made to be surrounded by our peers, and our peers influence us.
Now years later as a physician, I am intrigued by the data related to how our social groups influence our health. And how the people that we surround ourselves with can improve our health.
I could honestly talk about this all day, but I’m going to keep this short and encourage you to think about four ways that being part of a positive group can influence your health. And if you don’t have people in your life that are pushing you in a positive direction, I have your back.
1. Connection
We are pack animals, right? We are made to be in community. I’ve heard it said that loneliness is more threatening to your health than any other lifestyle-related risk factor. We’re talking about things like smoking, poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, lack of sleep, and others.
Can you believe that? Think about it though. It makes sense, right? It’s extremely stressful to feel like we’re alone. Our body doesn’t like stress. It alters everything from our metabolism, our circulation to our happiness hormones.
2. Accountability
Have you ever kicked it up a notch when you were out walking when you saw a jogger coming? Are you more likely to show up at the gym when you know your neighbor is going to that exercise class also? Have you ever taken your medication extra regularly the week before your doctor’s appointment because you wanted your numbers to look their best?
In fact, the American Society of Training and Development did a study on accountability and found that you have a 65% greater chance of completing a goal if you commit to someone. And if you have a specific accountability deadline with a person you’ve committed to, this increases your chance of success by up to 95%!
3. Positivity
Does it really boil down to “monkey see monkey do”? Have you heard of mirror neurons? It’s such a cool concept. Mirror neurons are neurons that fire when you do a certain action and also fire when you observe someone else doing that same action.
Mirror neurons are extremely beneficial because they allow you to learn from your environment, other peoples experiences, and to demonstrate empathy. So, the thoughts of other people can actually become your thoughts (whoa!). When you experience someone feeling an emotion such as happiness, sadness, fear, anger or joy, your brain “tries out” those emotions to imagine what that person is feeling. It does this by attempting to fire the same synapses as those being fired in that person’s brain. So that’s another reason you should consider closely who you spend most of your time with!
4. Wise Counsel
Well if they say two heads are better than one then surely if you’re in a big group the more heads, the better, right? I do realize that there is such a thing as too many cooks in the kitchen, but think about the collective wisdom and inspiration that’s present in a group of positive people.
When you surround yourself with positive people who are mindful of being on a path of personal development, you gain so much. Just think of the benefits of having access to people who have learned from life struggles, and how their wisdom could apply to what you’re going through. And just imagine the inspiration that can be gained from the successes of others.
Our support systems are so meaningful to ourselves AND our health. How do your people lift you up?
To Your Whole Health!
Dr. Paige
