Dear Reader,

People can be oddly critical when it comes to someone trying to make healthy choices. The person who eats and drinks a lot at parties is fun, the person who decides to have a moderate portion and some water is boring.

For some reason, oftentimes choosing the healthy choice is equated with being the spoilsport.

It can feel odd to write it out, but these assumptions of how I would be perceived in social situations used to make me very nervous about making healthy choices when I was with friends or family. Would people want to stop hanging out with me because I didn't want to drink as much?

What makes Okinawa’s longest-living community the healthiest village

But when you find yourself surrounded by quality people who are always encouraging, if not participatory, in your health endeavors, this can change everything for your well-being.

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"I enjoy seeing my friends and going for walks. Staying active through exercise and socializing is what keeps my friends and I healthy." — Nobu Higa, 100-year-old Okinawan

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Studies have shown that one of the greatest determinants of one’s health is the people they surround themselves with. Social mirroring has been found to have a much larger impact on our health choices than scientific information or logical reasoning.

As humans, we are psychologically geared to refer to the people who surround us for cues on what is appropriate, and so our peers are constantly influencing us in our habits, whether we are actively conscious of this or not.

It’s why in notoriously healthy communities, like the Blue Zone Ogimi village in Okinawa, long-living individuals aren’t an exception, but are the standard. They have one of the highest rates of centenarians in the world, and living long is so common that they have developed a saying:

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“At 80, you are merely a youth. At 90, if your ancestors invite you into heaven, ask them to wait until you are 100—then, you might consider it. — Engraving found on a stone marker in Ogimi village”

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While there are several factors that contribute to their high rates of health, one key defining factor has been the Okinawan culture of "moai" or social groups that support social, health, and spiritual interests.

In short, researchers found that when your friends all eat well, you are much more likely to eat well. When your friends all exercise a lot, you are much more likely to exercise as well.

A place where a social life and a healthy life are one — this is where the healthiest people on the planet thrive.

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A healthy lifestyle and fun social life don’t have to work against each other

It can be scary to make a healthy lifestyle change, because it puts our identity on the line, and we don’t want to be the bore or spoilsport of any social group.

But a healthy lifestyle and fun social life don’t have to work against each other — instead of seeing them as two parts of our lives, when we combine these parts of our lives together, the synergy of both is one of the greatest tools in helping us to become healthier versions of ourselves.

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Instead of focusing on the opinions of others, try focusing on what kinds of relationships are important to you.

Rather than brainstorming excuses or coming up with elaborate stories to make healthy choices seem “reasonable”, I found it was much more powerful to simply be honest: I want to live a healthy lifestyle, and I hope we can do it together.

For one of the most effective things we can do for our well-being is prioritize finding a community which inspires us to take care of our health.

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Who in your life has made being healthy harder for you? Who has made healthy easier for you?

Let me know! I read everything that comes my way 😊

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Warmly,

Kaki
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