Patrick John McCrann | Athlete. Author. Coach.

This doode is positively positive.
photo credit: danorbit.

Recently released study data has shown that the people we associate with have an incredibly powerful impact on who we are. It seems that you are more than just what you eat; you are what your friends eat as well!

This finding, known as the “Three Degrees of Influence,” was gleaned from information gathered during the breakthrough, long-term Framingham Heart Study, started in 1948. They found, among other things, that scientific evidence that friends influence one another’s behavior – both in positive and negative ways.

For example, people who quit smoking tend to quit smoking together. The study found that when smokers quit, their friends were 36 percent likely to follow. Similarly, obesity can spread like a virus through networks. Having an obese spouse raises the risk of becoming obese by 37 percent, having an obese friend raises that risk to 171 percent. The study showed that social networks are better at predicting obesity rather than the presence of so-called “fat genes.”

Take a moment to look at your social circles, both in the real world but also online. Do your friends and contacts mirror the type of person you aspire to be (or are)? Can you “link up” with your network to create some kind of positive change either for yourselves (group body composition project) or in a larger context (Run for Haiti Project)?

Even more importantly, look inwards. Are you being a positive force for change in your actions? In your character?

Now that we know our daily actions and personal choices can impact far more than ourselves, what would you choose to change?