Choose your pack wisely

The sweet booty pack!!

So if the people you identify as friends are obese then you are more likely to be obese. Same goes for the other end of the scale. Social habits are contagious! So take a good look around and see who is impacting you, and whom you are impacting.

The study suggests that in this case it’s about norming a larger body size. And it also doesn’t matter where they live, if they are important to you they will change your reality and the way you see the world. Besides, just because you can’t hit a fast food joint with them doesn’t mean they aren’t texting you a picture of the triple fatty fat burger they just ordered and influencing you that way!

Here’s the way I see it. If I hang out with people with good habits, they invite me to do things that are good for me. If I Facebook my sister and she’s headed out to train for another ultra marathon, then I’m thinking about running and exercise and am primed to make healthier choices.

In my time as a counselor and my time analyzing human behavior as a marketing professional I have not seen anything more powerful at impacting behavior than the pack you’re running in. Humans are social creatures and we are built to function in a social environment and to preserve our place in that pack. Conformity to group norms is how you stay part of a group. Some groups allow a lot of leeway before they kick you out and others require strict adherence.

So my primary packs are work, family/close friends and my community. I telecommute for work but there’s definitely an impact (mostly in my drinking and compulsive eating habits). My dad’s maniac-level of physical activity definitely impacted my sister and we all tend to want to do physical activities together. My community is a drinking club with a running problem. https://sites.google.com/site/eugenehasher/ Thus I drink a lot and thankfully run a lot! When I try and cut back on the drinking, temptation is everywhere! Even if the group supports my decision (they love a designated driver), the delicious beverage of the moment is staring me in the face. But then again, I have never run so much even in the crappy dark rain of winter.

So the lesson of the day for me is: check out your partner, your family and close friends and your community. Do you want to be like them? I hope so because you already are!

Now where are my new big bosomed best friends? I gotta get these Bs up to Cs! (Just kidding, I know my boobs are already perfect).

Only social pressure would make me do something like this!