You become what you watch

It’s hard to imagine something is possible unless you’ve seen it done.

Can you relate?


Maybe you attempted a sport or hobby you love because you first saw someone else do it.

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Maybe you know how to cook that quick meal in the kitchen because you saw someone else do it.

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This action of seeing and becoming what we see is extremely important when we think about our daily, small habits. Why? Because your daily habits dictate the outcome of our health.


Your mental and emotional approaches to situations, your habits around food, and your choices and beliefs around working out and movement greatly impact the quality of your life as you age.

And where do these stem from? From what we have seen others do.


This is one reason why children of Type 2 diabetic parents are more likely to develop diabetes (1.).


This is one way that your lifestyle choices can determine if certain genes you inherit are turned on or off (2.).

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This is something I’ve been thinking about ever since my mom passed away in October of 2023.


In her absence, I’ve realized so many of the positive aspects of my character and my life are because I saw her do them. Watching her was a subconscious action that greatly impacted the trajectory of my life.


I watched how she lived her life, how she overcame hurdles, how she put God first, even how she applied makeup, set the table, and made choices around clothes. It is because of the example she set, I knew I could do it, too.

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It’s really hard to know how to do something well until you’ve seen someone do it well.
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An obvious example is that I grew up in a home free of alcohol. My parents never had alcohol in our home, nor did they drink once they had kids. For me, not drinking is natural. It’s easy. It’s what I know and what I’ve seen. 

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I can easily imagine my life without alcohol (it’s not part of my life currently, anyway).
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For a lot of people, the opposite is true. They cannot imagine their lives without alcohol. Being social without a drink doesn’t sound fun and might take more effort.


I’m so thankful for the way my parents brought me up. This is just one example of hundreds of things. 

From the minute to the grand, all of our decisions around habits are impacted by our beliefs. And when you see someone else do something, you are more likely to believe that it is possible in your own life, too.


In the deep abyss of missing my mom, I’ve found that remembering how she handled situations has helped me through the grief, as well. You never know how your actions could potentially help somone, too.


What does that mean for you?


It is, actually, very hard to be healthy and to avoid that natural progression of poor quality aging, unless you’ve seen someone else do it.

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And that’s what I’m here to help you to do.


Despite whatever fears you might have around aging or health and wellness, know that you can accomplish what you put your mind to. You can overcome stressful situations. You can become the happiest, and healthiest, version of yourself.
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It’s also important to take a hefty dose of reality, and remember that the reverse of this is true.
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We subconsciously become what we watch. If you spend your time watching people, before you know it, you will start dressing like them. Maybe even cooking like them, talking like them, acting like them, eating like them.
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Are the people you watch helping you become the person you want to be? What you watch is a subtle entry into grand choices in our lives.
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Feed your mind with healthy examples of who you want to be. Be careful what you consume with your eyes. And know that you can accomplish whatever you want for your life.

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…” Romans 12:2