Surround yourself with positive people to stick to resolutions

On January 1, a friend told me that he had given up on setting New Year resolutions. Why? I asked him.

And the answer he gave me was not surprising: “It’s too difficult to achieve them,” he said.

But as we talked further, I realised that each time he was trying to blame some of his failures on bad company.

Then, a topic cropped up: Should we choose who to associate with if we want to achieve our resolutions?

I will be speaking about health resolutions particularly and here, it has dawned on me that the people we often associate with, could make or break us.

If you surround yourself with negative or destructive people, there are always likely chances that you will end up being like them.

For instance if they are taking drugs, you may become a drug addict as well. On the other hand, surrounding yourself with optimistic minded people has a number of benefits including health, emotional, spiritually and psychological.

For instance, if you are trying to lose weight, befriend people who will be positive and give advice especially when you want to go off track.

This is much so if one is trying to deal with harmful use of alcohol, for instance, or smoking as well as having more than one sexual partner.

At times, these habits may seem mild and easy to beat off but without the right mindset, they become too difficult to tackle. And, this can be determined by who advises you.

In case you are already engaged in any of the harmful habits, seek help; including professional counselling, treatment and rehabilitation but make sure you watch your company.

May be your friends have made several whispers about you gaining weight.

Well, the friends’ remarks about you could mean a lot. Be careful with this and don’t be put off the course.

As the year begins, you have the opportunity to redeem your image, habits and other achievements in the next 12 months.

But above all, be mindful of what goes into your body. There is an old adage that says: “you are what you eat,” which means that our bodies reflect the kind of food we consume.

Think about choosing foods and drinks that are good for health, in the modest portions that will help control weight.

But, there are so many types of foods and drinks, and so much information about nutrition and diet plans that we find it difficult to make the right choices.

And, may be friend X or Y is advising you to choose one against the other. Well, my honest advice to you is that you should stay focused.

A book on nutrition would also help. Through it, you can know quite a bit of what to eat and drink-and what not to eat and drink to prevent chronic diseases. And since nutrients are found in foods, all one needs are a few guidelines on maintaining their health and well-being.