Mind Set 2 Support People

It’s so much more fun to share the experience and keep one another accountable. You’ll recognize the false thinking in one another and help each other correct that with the truth. Make it a game. Every time your friend blows away a lie, she gets a point. When she gets 10 or 15 points you have to pay up.

But you get points when you recognize the lies she’s believing and then she has to pay up.

H-m-m-m. Now what could the payout be?

                She makes you a healthy lunch.

                You get to send her on an extra lap walking around the block.

                Then there’s always the money thing.

                You can think up something fun and devious I’m sure.

Back in the 1980’s a group of us met every week for 8 weeks for “Wellness in Action”. I would give a talk about some aspect of healthy living each time. But we had the most fun preparing and eating a healthy meal together. That meal together taught us more than any lecture could.

We were a support group for each other. Someone would always have a tip for whoever was struggling with some aspect of making healthy lifestyle changes. And the cooking tips were great. Many of them wound up in my cookbook, Dr. Jo’s Natural Healing Cookbook.

But you don’t need a big group to give you encouragement and support. One person who’s eager to join you will make all the difference in the world.

Maybe a long time friend will want to join you. Or perhaps you will find a new friend. You might even find a family member who is ready to make the plunge.

But beware. Most of the time family members don’t want to hear about things that mean they will have to change their habits. We generally have to be patient and subtle with them. So simply start making the changes in your life with a happy heart and quiet, non-judgmental spirit.

Hopefully when they see the new you; vivacious, alert, enjoying life at your healthy life time weight, they’ll get jealous. They’ll want to know what you’ve been doing. (Don’t expect them to figure out what you’ve been doing by observing your actions. Their minds have been sabotaging that.)

When they start asking questions, bring them along gently with little steps at a time.

In the meantime have fun with your supportive friend(s). You undoubtedly will fall into a pit along the way. Hopefully you will be in the pit at different times, so you can rescue each other.

You know what “the pits” are.

                When your mind says, “I can’t do this anymore! Life is getting in the way.” Do you recognize that lie? You are actually choosing life by making healthy changes. But the deceiving side of your mind is lying. It’s saying that doing what you’ve always done because it’s your habit is “life”. But actually it may be a bad habit that’s the path to disability and death.

                OK, buddy what do you say when she’s in the pits? “Choose life. Choose health.” So you ate some junk “death” food. It’s no big deal. Just flush it down the toilet and eat healthy again.

I’m not going to mention any other lies for now because we want to focus on the truth, on the positive. If you run up against some lies that keep holding you back, let us know and we’ll ask the others on this journey how they dealt with those lies.

Just make your mind and your buddy aware of the fact that you will occasionally run into the pits. But there’s always a way out because you have a trustworthy buddy who is going through this great adventure with you.