"The Tipping Point" to Healthy Living

Having trouble losing fat?  Can't figure out why your consistent training isn't making you stronger?  Don't understand why your stress levels aren't dropping despite what you consider to be your best efforts?

The difficulty you're experiencing while trying to find success may not be related to factors that are most often considered -- i.e. not training hard enough, genetics, lack of time to shop for quality food, poor regulation of hormone balance due to poor nutrition, etc.  Instead, it could very well be due to the context under which you're living your life. . . . the environment that you consistently expose yourself to.

Need further explanation?

In his book, The Tipping Point, author Malcolm Gladwell illustrates the importance of "the little things" -- even those little things that seem trivial or counter-intuitive -- and their ability to create powerful change or full-on epidemics when manipulated intelligently.  One of the variables that Gladwell describes as important for creating epidemics is "The Power of Context."   In his discussion, he outlines a research project by John Darley and Daniel Batson -- a "Good Samaritan Study" conducted to describe human behavior based on varying environmental circumstances.  As stated by Gladwell:

"What this study [suggests]. . . is that the convictions of your heart and the actual contents of your thoughts are less important, in the end, in guiding your actions than the immediate context of your behavior." (2000, p. 165)

Later, he takes this point even further:

"What must underlie successful [change] . . . is a bedrock belief that change is possible. . . in the face of the right kind of impetus. . . We like to think of ourselves as autonomous and inner-directed, that who we are and how we act is something permanently set by our genes and our temperament. . . . But if you [take a close look at real life examples], you see that we are actually powerfully influenced by our surroundings, our immediate context, and the personalities of those around us." (2000, pp. 258-259)

The saying is, "You are who you hang out with" and it's typically used to describe personality traits as related to character.  But it can also be applied to the physical realm as well.  Don't lose sight of the fact that your struggle to enhance your fitness may have as much to do with your environment as with your genetics.  Your focus may be off.  Your motivation may be non-existent.  Your bad habits hard to replace with positive changes.

And while it's important to take ownership of your issues and take responsibility for changing them, the fact remains that your mindset might be under the control of the subtle, but highly influential factors of your external environment.

Make an effort to become truly aware of the environment that surrounds you.  Are your friends negatively influencing you, or do they exemplify the healthy lifestyle you'd like to emulate?  Do you have a motivational social network?  Do you live in a safe, supportive neighborhood?  Is your home set up to encourage good habits?  Becoming conscious of how your current environment may be negatively effecting you enables you to change your surroundings.

And that change might just be the stimulus required to get the results you've been striving for.