Keeping Your Friends Close and Your Enemies Closer

It would be hard enough to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle if the only person that you had to worry about was yourself. The fact is, this is rarely the case. Every person that you interact with during your day has the potential to either be a positive influence or a negative one.

For instance, your mother might happen to compete in Ironmen events...or your dad might be a benchwarmer in the Coney Island Hot Dog Eating contest. Your brother might have been the starting quarterback at his college...or the first drafter in his Fantasy Football league on Yahoo Sports. Your significant other's idea of a perfect date could be rockclimbing and a Cliff Bar, or sitting on a stool in a bar where the bartender's name is Cliff.

It's a simple concept: you are either moving closer to your goals, or you're moving further away from them. Our day is filled with people that have the ability to push us in either direction...So which way are you heading?

By relying on your positive influences when you're not feeling motivated or when you're having trouble sticking to your plans, you can create a strong support system to help you to lift your spirits and keep yourself "in check." That doesn't mean that you need to drop any and all friends and family that might not be a perfect cheerleader for your team of one, but it is important to recognize the people in your life that are more likely to sabatoge your efforts than to help them.

-Jonathan