I ran an experiment on myself to find out.
If you haven’t heard the saying, there are several articles on the topic: Here and here are just a few.
This concept got me thinking, what would happen if I changed who I associated with most? How would my mindset, habits, behaviours, and life change?
How I started:
First, I narrowed down my scope to encompass an area of my life that I’ve been meaning to improve, but has been lagging behind for one reason or another.
I settled on healthy eating habits.
The Hypothesis:
I settled on a hypothesis to test.
By associating with more individuals who ate healthier diets and promoted a lifestyle full of whole, nutritious foods, I would naturally begin to adopt a similar attitude, thus increasing my intake of fruits, vegetables, and proteins.
Just Do It:
The next step was tricky. I needed to associate with the appropriate individuals for my goals.
Since I don’t interact with many people outside of my family and my professional life to begin with, and since ditching them wasn’t an option, I needed to get creative.
It dawned on me that social media was the most “socializing” I had done in the past few years. I scrolled through my feed and, one account at a time, swiftly and ruthlessly unfollowed anyone who wasn’t a match for my goals. This meant unfollowing some of my favourite food bloggers or anyone who posted romanticized versions of unnecessarily large, yet deliciously indulgent corndogs or gelato scoops the size of a watermelon. Adding by subtracting, some call it. I added to my goal of healthier eating habits by subtracting influences that would lead me astray.
After weeding out, it was time to weave in.
I asked myself, “Who would Future Me be associating with? How would she think and act?”
With that in mind, I set out to actively search for accounts that embodied my goal. Search, scroll, follow, and repeat.
I replicated this through all of my social media accounts.
To take it a step further, I joined support and mastermind groups to saturate my network with people who had the attitudes and behaviours I was aiming for — complete immersion.
What I found:
In 5 months, this is what changed…
- I eat salads for lunch, voluntarily. Lettuce on its own is too bland for my taste, so to prevent sucking all of the joy out of life, I go for options with moderate sprinkles of dried fruits, cheeses, nuts, and other toppings. I also leverage my love of chicken strips to drown out the sorrowful cries of spinach.
- I fill up on fruits and protein. If I couldn’t stop myself from snacking, I had to come up with a way to make it better for me, at the very least. Goodbye, 3 PM muffins and croissants. Hello, fruits and protein.
- I prioritize sleep. Realizing the role sleep played in my eating habits, I focused on getting a good night’s rest.
The takeaway:
Is it true that we’re the average of the 5 people we’re closest to? I can’t say for sure.
I did find that my mindset shifted, as did my actions.
Since our surroundings influence our thoughts, habits, and behaviours, it makes sense that changing who we interact with regularly will also change, well, us as a whole.
What does your “Top 5” say about YOU?
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Previously Published on medium
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