How to really help the people in your life when you start on your wellness path
You discovered the amazing wellness world and you've started to integrate all the knowledge, practices in your everyday life, and your life is suddenly turned upside down! You feel like your perspective has shifted about practically anything around you, and you want to share these amazing discoveries with the whole world.
To begin with, you start observing the people close to you and you notice all the health "mistakes" they're doing in their lives, and you picture a thousands ways in which you could help them and make their lives so much better.
These are the people you love and you truly want the best for them! You want them to enjoy their lives and be at their full potential, that's why you build this inner desire to do anything in your power change their lives for the better.
You are an attentive observer and you take any moment of the day as a chance to share your knowledge. Your dad comes back home late and you start giving him a talk of how rest is essential to feel good, and how she shouldn't eat after 9pm to help digestion. Your mum is sitting in front of the TV and you invite her to go for a run with you or you remind her how she really should subscribe to the local gym. Your best friend is stressed out from work and you call her to remind her about self-care and meditation.....and the list goes on.
But something unexpected happens. Regardless of how valuable your tips are, how kale and chia seeds are an amazing source of nutrition and how life-changing the last self-help book you read was, these people are not paying attention, neither changing their habits for a better life.
I know how it feels, I've been there countless times, you feel like you're speaking a foreign language to them and it makes you deeply frustrated.
But it doesn't have to be that way, there is something I recently learned about the people surrounding you that could help you a little.
I understood that each of us has its own path and you cannot control the behavior of another person, even if you do it from a place of deep care and love for them.
Even if it may sound crazy to you now, you need to acknowledge that your path is not more valuable than theirs and there are so many ways to get to the the point we all want to get to, which is a happier and more fulfilled life.
Some people will pass through all kind of unhealthy habits to gain the answers they need to get there, while others will embrace an amazing wellness path straight away.
And the truth is that the growth of an individual is uneven at different stages of their lives. Some will get an amazing relationship when they're very young but struggle with their careers for much longer. Others will be healthy and exercise their bodies regularly but they will not feel mentally balanced for long time.
And we need to accept all of these differences and let the people around us live at their own pace.
But I hear you now, you still want to do something for them!
And luckily there is something beautiful you can do: Be the example for them.
Simply act and put into practice all your learnings and without the need of long discussions, they'll look up at you and the amazing improvements of your life, and they will gradually follow up and improve their too.
And trust me, you will be amazed at how fast they will get results!
So next time you feel frustrated because you want to change the life of the people around you, keep in mind these two tips:
- Be nonjudgmental about other people's journey, we're all different and improving in our own way
- Walk the talk: the only behavior you can control is yours, and being the example is much more powerful than a thousands words.
I really hope this post was useful for you! I remember feeling so frustrated when I would see people in my life not living at their full potential or taking care of themselves, but each of us make choices and your role is simply to live at your own terms and be the example. Please feel free to comment below and share your ideas on this topic :-)
Alessia xx