Have you ever heard the saying “you are what you eat” ? We know that if you fuel your body with healthy foods, you increase your chances for a longer, healthier life.
Similarly, if you choose unhealthy foods, you will more likely become overweight, experience fatigues, and ultimately increase your chances for things like high blood pressure and heart disease. Obviously, our nutrition has a big impact on our overall wellness, but there are other factors that go into how we feel about ourselves as well, all leading to our chances for future success in the things we choose to do in life.
Aside from what we eat, the company we keep has a dramatic impact on our mental health. For example, when we hang around people who build us up, support us, and are there for us on tough days, we develop greater human resiliency and ultimately perform better at whatever we do in life. On the other hand, if we choose to be around people who regularly belittle us, call us names, or simply do not have any confidence in our ability, we run the risk of experiencing a negative outlook, loss of confidence, increased anxiety, and ultimately an overall feeling of being inadequate. Yes, the people around us can build us up – or tear us down.
Be proactive with your company
No, you don’t have to go out today and tell the negative people in your life that you are done with them, but you can instead find subtle, discrete ways to simply spend less time in their company without them even knowing. If you regularly sit next to someone who talks negatively to you, either work to change the subject, or get up and move! Similarly, if you know people who support you, try to hang out with them more, practice together, and build each other up. Remember, the efforts you make with the company you keep will have a direct impact on how you feel about yourself – for better or for worse.
Final thoughts
Yes, similar to how we are what we eat, our mental health is constructed in much the same way. If we “feed” our minds with uplifting conversation, we will carry ourselves with greater confidence. Unfortunately, by hanging around with negative people the exact opposite occurs by “feeding” negativity into our mind.
