There is an old saying:

. . . like the pebble cast into the still pond, everything we do sends ripples into our environment. The positive or negative influence of those ripples is our choice.

I was in a yoga class earlier this week and the teacher suggested at the end of the class we smile to each person as we pass by them and go about the rest of our day. The moment she said that brought a smile to my face and heart.

The ripple effect….
One smile, led to another which led to 10 more. And thus, for a moment in time, I felt “lifted”, which is still rippling.

This got me thinking about the influences we have with our every day actions. In the health and wellness “industry” (I really don’t call this an industry, it’s more a lifestyle)…we want to promote exercise, nutrition, emotional health and healing, and over all well being.

That promotion though needs to start within each of us; at the core level. It needs to start with “me” (the individual)….and those who are advocates of it. If I, for example, suggest someone works out daily (to their own level) because I believe movement is important, I need to be willing to do the same. If I suggest someone choose foods 90% of the time which are nutrient dense and calorie light for overall health, then I need to be willing to do that as well.

If any one of us suggest someone else do something which we believe to enrich a life and will help our well being, then we need to first be that example.

Will we fall short sometimes…of course!!!! Will we make mistakes, forget, get frustrated and become human (daily!) …of course!!!! But that is what makes the ripple effect so powerful. It not only changes those who we are able to help, but it changes us first. If we allow the ripple effect to grow on our negative examples, then that too will overwhelm those who pay attention.

Consider being the pebble in the pond. Let your positive example and energy ripple away at a still pond into a ferocious ocean, and see the change it ignites in you. Oh, and smile at each person you walk by for the next hour after you read this!

To yours in Health~

Tammy Parkinson, CPT CNC CLC
Body Firm Personal Training and Nutritional Consulting
www.mybodyfirm.com