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

HealthRally Motivation!

Esther Dyson sheds some light on what we are up to at HealthRally in her piece Health Care's Frequent Flyers:

Then there’s HealthRally, which uses insights from behavioral economics to motivate people to achieve their own health and wellness goals. The basic insight is that owing something to your friends is a far more powerful incentive than getting something for yourself.

The user signs up and recruits friends and family to sponsor a reward of their choice for a specified goal. (We can imagine a wish-list revenue opportunity here, where vendors can offer specific motivational products or services.) From then on, the sponsors have an implicit right to check on the user’s progress, offering support or criticism far more compelling than any stranger could. It’s relatively easy to fail on your own, but if your friends have put up real money, it’s much harder.

While the service is currently designed for individuals, companies could also use HealthRally to enhance their corporate wellness programs. By providing matching financial rewards, for example, a company could leverage its employees’ natural support networks and provide a valuable boost to the pot.

Esther recently shared with me that she was able to motivate herself to floss each night by allowing herself to cut five minutes off her morning swim she does each day. Now that's creative motivation!

Friends Rule in Social Health: Social Alliances Outweigh Shared Interests

Your brain is more responsive to your friends than to strangers, even if that stranger has more in common with you. According to new brain imaging research, social closeness outweighs shared interests, as was previously assumed. This has important implications for how we choose what type of support network might best serve us as we work towards a tough health goal like losing weight or quitting smoking.

Should you join a peer support group of weak ties? Or build a social support network of close friends and family?  This research would suggest the latter and this is exactly the approach we've taken at HealthRally. Not only will your brain respond more powerfully to your friends' support and suggestions but in the end they are the one's who really have a vested interest in seeing you succeed.

Social Health Targets Procrastination By Keeping Us Rolling

Everyone procrastinates. You are not alone. Nobel prize winners, dancers, cooks, academics, business people, school kids, moms... everyone at one point or another drags their heels and puts off what could be done today until tomorrow. And it's getting worse with the number of people admitting difficulties with procrastination quadrupling between 1978 and 2002. While this may not be a bad thing in some cases, procrastinating about getting and staying healthy can take years off your life or decimate the quality of life you lead while you are still around. It's amazing that almost 70% of patients suffering from glaucoma risk blindness because they don’t use their eyedrops regularly. So what gives?

Short term considerations are overwhelming your long term goals.  You know you'd like to lose that weight, quit smoking, take that medication, study for that exam, but right now a movie seems like a more pleasant way to spend your time. It's an easier dopamine surge.

Enter social health, where close friends and family actively engage each other throughout our daily lives to be a bit healthier, to get moving. One nudge, becomes another, begets even more. The virtuous circle of health begins to take hold as each person supports, motivates and inspires. All that takes is that first step, and that's why we take so seriously using every means necessary to inspire one to get things rolling.

Motivated by Music

It became apparent to me when I began to exercise again that I needed something to kick start my energy.  The answer for me was music.  Overtime I figured out what rhythms really motivate me and which don't. The impact has been amazing.  For better or for worse, I don't like to run these days without my iPod plugged into my ears.  I listen to two DJ's, both who podcast shows weekly on iTunes so each week I get new energy on a consistent basis.  Some weeks their sets are good, other times just ok, but occasionally there will be a set which is mind blowingly motivating, and I end up going back to it for several weeks.  So who are the kings of my motivation, DJ Eros and Tiesto.  DJ Eros lives in Puerto Rico and plays a four hour set. Tiesto lives everywhere plays an hour long jam.  I highly recommend these DJs if you are looking for a new power source.  It might take some time, but they'll grow into you.  Here is a bit of Tiesto!