Make an upfront effort to find and join a healthy community, utilizing online tools to identify local people with similar ideas and goals, as these relationships are key to long-lasting transformational health.
Before embarking on a lifestyle transformation, ask yourself which friends and family members will be supportive, as many friendships are built on unhealthy behaviors and can hinder progress.
Actively build new relationships that support healthy behaviors to gain accountability and support structures, leading to profound health changes and improved mental state.
Actively seek out and join local community groups (e.g., church, sports, men’s groups, talking cafes) that align with your interests, as connecting with others can combat loneliness and improve health outcomes.
Enhance the health benefits of social connection by combining it with healthy behaviors like yoga, mindfulness exercises, movement, or communal eating, making the experience exponentially more beneficial.
If you have a chronic illness, seek out and connect with individuals who have successfully reversed that condition, as their lived experience and mentorship can be more impactful than a doctor’s advice.
Partner with someone, referred to as a ‘progress partner,’ for mutual support and accountability in your health journey, as this structure helps maintain commitment and progress.
Attend a men’s group for three hours a week to improve emotional health, relationships, and general well-being, as it provides support and helps process life’s ups and downs.
Move away from living on autopilot and reacting to external influences; instead, make intentional choices, supported by community and accountability, to align your actions with your desired self.
Develop personal accountability by being in integrity with your word, ensuring that if you say you will do something, you follow through, which can be transformative for personal growth and habits.
Regularly practice identifying and feeling your emotions, as this can build your capacity to feel and lead to greater self-awareness and emotional maturity.
Define specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals for your health transformation over a six-month period, ensuring they are internally motivated and come from you.
Reflect on and understand the slow, dysfunctional breakdown over time that led to your chronic illness, rather than viewing it as a sudden event, to gain insight into your health journey.
Dedicate one month to making a single, permanent change to your diet, allowing time to try, fail, and readjust within a supportive environment to ensure lasting transformation.
As a simple challenge, try eating a few new vegetables each month, as this small, consistent change can have a transformative impact on your physiology over time.
Dedicate a month to exploring and trying new stress reduction techniques to better manage stress, which is a key pillar of health.
Focus on improving your sleep hygiene and establishing a consistent morning routine, including sunlight exposure and keeping your phone out of the bedroom, as good sleep starts in the morning.
Dedicate a month to creating regular movement habits and structures that enable you to move your body every day, as consistent physical activity is a core pillar of health.
Dedicate a month to assessing and optimizing your environment to support your health goals, as your surroundings significantly impact your well-being.
If you exercise at home, also consider attending real-life clubs or classes where you are surrounded by other humans, as the group interaction can be super transformative.
Engage in asynchronous communication within a supportive group (like a Facebook group) to share struggles and successes, and receive help and encouragement from peers even when not meeting in real-time.