Connect, Cultivate, Succeed

Tweet your health goals and you are more likely to reach them.  Right? Well, not necessarily so, say the co-authors of Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and the How They Shape Our Lives in an article they published yesterday, Do Tweets Change Your Behavior? While tweeting may help some, to instigate new behaviors using the web, they highlight the following as important elements to success:

• It's not just the number of ties that matters online, it is also the nature and quality of these ties.
• We must learn how to cultivate online interactions that are, or feel, real
• We need interactions where something is actually at stake, such as the health status of the connected individuals

At HealthRally we believe the authors, Nicholas Chrsitakis and James Fowler are right on target. We are focused on building tools that help you bring together your close friends in a private social network where they can inspire and support you in your quest to achieve your health goal and even super motivate you with rewards.  Strong ties, real interactions, with something at stake. It's a powerful formula for success.

So what motivates you?

Wellness and getting healthy is more about motivation than information.  Yes, accurate health information is important but when I started to get healthy I basically had known for a long time what the problems were and what I needed to do about them.  It was a lot more about deciding to taking charge and doing something about it than knowing how to change. So I took a broad look around for motivation, and I found it nearly everywhere.  I found it in the eyes of my wife, my family, my friends, the people walking down the street, and even my wallet. There was a better way to do this, so I took the challenge and went for it.

So what motivates you?

An Interview About My Book and other Endeavors