To live healthy, you have to have healthy friends

To continue our discussion on how to get healthy, let's talk about the company we keep. What do the people around you have to do with whether you have a healthy life you ask? Honestly? More than you realize. Not everyone wants to see you succeed. They're so miserable with their lives that rather than follow your example and do something constructive and positive, they'd rather tear you down and bring you down to their level. Misery truly loves company.

In the last year, I've learned that even if they're in your boat, they may not be rowing with you. Instead, they're drilling holes in your boat because they don't want to feel like you're out doing them. It is impossible to stay in a positive frame of mind for long when you're around Negative Nancy's on a regular basis.

Let me back up. I'm not saying that everybody is out to get you. Some people are just stuck and don't know how to get themselves on the right track. We love them from a distance and do our own thing. Try to help them but they are the only ones that can make the necessary changes to be more positive. And getting out of that rut is hard. Especially if the people around you are in the same space. Surround yourself with like minded people. They will understand where you're coming from and encourage you when you get discouraged. And you will. Because life is hard. But you're more likely to bounce back faster if you have someone telling you "this is going to pass", "you so got this" than if they're encouraging you to do things contrary to your goals.

Here's the thing. Like minded people tend to flock to each other. Your unmotivated friends will start to back off you once you start doing better for yourself and that's fine. They're doing you a favor. And that's not saying that you don't love them or that you don't have fun with them, but if they aren't on the same path you're on, then it may be a good idea to find people that are.

Life is too short to not be happy. And part of living a healthy lifestyle is trying to be as happy as possible. Can you be happy all of the time? No. But being treated like you're doing something wrong because you're doing something positive with your life isn't something you have time for. Neither is being used for what you've acquired.

You're worth more than that. And it's time to start tightening up the friend's circle and only deal with people that see that.

Once you cut the fat, so to speak, you'll be amazed at how you feel. And how much easier it is to stay on task and get things done.

I totally sound like a scolding parent. LOL. I just know about this one from personal experience, so I know about the ten pound weight that is lifted once you cut toxic people loose. And it's not because you're better than they are. You just want different things now and that's fine. There's nothing wrong with that and you don't have to explain yourself to them or anybody else. You just want to be happier. And there's no shame in that.