Why It Seems Strangers Are More Supportive Than Friends of Your Health Goals
Mindset Monday
Takeaway: Learn why those closest to you sometimes feel the least supportive of healthy lifestyle changes.
Why do our friends and family not support our healthy lifestyle changes in a manner we expect?
What’s happening is a unique psychological phenomenon called the “Black Sheep Effect.”
This refers to a group’s tendency to more favorably view unlikable outsiders than unlikable insiders.
Put another way that doesn’t sound like gibberish:
We join groups (our friends) because it helps establish or reinforce a part of our identity. Then, we create rules within the group to reinforce and protect this identity, creating a clear distinction between people outside our group from those within.
When we decide to make healthy lifestyle changes, we ultimately change how we behave in social situations. Now we’re likely violating the implicit group rules and threatening the identity of the group.
This results in backlash from our friends because we’re changing our habits.
It should start to become clear why this is happening. Your social group doesn’t want you to fail or to remain unhealthy. Everyone in the group has been socially programmed to protect the identity of the group, and your new behaviors are threatening that.
This is where the backlash comes from.
Understanding this means you can learn better ways to navigate the social programming that your friends and family might not even be aware of.
~ Coach Alex
P.S. Get more insights on this topic by reading my full article here.