It’s hard to watch someone you love suffer in any way. But when that suffering is brought on by decisions that they have made, especially as it relates to their physical health, you might feel inclined to encourage them to get healthier and overcome this aspect of their lives. And while this can be helpful, it’s vital that you go about this in the right way.
To help you see how this can be done, here are three ways you can encourage a loved one to get healthier.
Know Why You’re Getting Involved
Before you even try to broach this topic with your loved one, you should first consider why it is that you feel you need to get involved.
Many times, people try to offer help for a problem that others don’t recognize in themselves. So if you’re trying to encourage a healthier lifestyle for selfish reasons, you may want to take a step back. On the other hand, if you see how the lifestyle of your loved one is causing a negative quality of life for them and are worried about how they could end up in an assisted living facility or dead because of this lifestyle, stepping in could be the most loving thing you could do. And if this is the case, you should focus your conversation on the great benefits that could come to them from making some small, healthy changes in their life.
Start This Journey Together
When people are attempting to make changes in their lives, they’re going to need all of the support that they can get.
One way you can give this type of support to your loved one is to go on this journey with this. As they commit to making certain changes and choices, be there right by their side and subscribe to these same choices. This way, you can encourage and support each other in becoming healthier.
Make Healthy Choices Easier
When making hard choices for your health, it’s easy to justify going off course sometimes. Especially if your loved one sees other people making unhealthy choices with seemingly no consequences, it can be hard for them to stick to their health commitments.
To combat this, try to do what you can to make healthy choices easier for them. Don’t tempt them with things that will derail them or make their healthy choices harder. Whenever you can, try to help them stay the course and focus on the positive things about living a healthier life and getting to enjoy more of their time with the people they love.
If you’re worried about the health of your loved one, consider using the tips mentioned above to find ways that you can encourage them to be healthier.