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Human HyperFormance Newsletters>
Remote Control Your LIfe
May 31, 2008
Here's a fascinating study that really brings home how important your social environment is. A recent study from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences raised members of a mutant short-lived strain of fruit flies with with younger members of normal life span flies. The control group kept short-lived flies and normal flies in separate vials. Mutant flies paired with the younger flies lived twice as long as those housed with other mutants! They also had improved responses to environmental stresses.
Why should a non-fruit fly like you care? Several studies have demonstrated the proven value of having supportive peer groups in facilitating positive behavior change. Quitting smoking, losing weight, and improving general fitness are all easier with positive social feedback. I've seen the results in my Boomer Fitness Boot Camps and Meridian Fitness classes. The reinforcement that other people provide can really help, because behavioral change is hard.
And when friends or spouses pair up, it's even better.
But it goes beyond the above. Successful business people know the value of hanging out with other successful business people. Happy people stay happy by being with happy people. It's all about programming your cognitive map for what you want. If you want something more, or want to hold on to what you've got, look for others who want or have it too.
You have all the control in your life that you want - no one loses control. They give it away, because it's too inconvenient. Make the choices, take the control. It really is that straightforward (notice I didn't say easy.) But, like any other habit, the more you do it, the better you get.
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