Who's your Support system?

The Mentorship and Social Support Survey

In a survey run of people participating in a coaching group a number of different questions were asked of the participants, some of which were to ascertain their level of fitness, some of which were to test their nutritional knowledge, and some of which were to determine their access to mentorship and social support.

The results were fascinating.
They wanted to know how much of an impact mentorship and social support actually have on a person’s ability to reach their physique goals.

So they asked people to rate their happiness with their own physique on a scale from 1 to 5, like so:

• Extremely unhappy – I’m nowhere near my goal and I doubt I can make it.
• Unhappy – I’m far from my goal but I’m willing to do something about it.
• Ambivalent – I’m working toward my goal but I’ve got a ways to go.
• Happy – I’m close to my goal and making progress.
• Extremely Happy – I’ve achieved my goal and I’m working on maintenance now.

They then looked only at the people who answered [5. Extremely Happy] in order to measure the impact of various factors on their success.

What stood out immediately was the fact that there wasn’t a significant difference in nutritional knowledge between the people who had achieved their goals (the 5’s) and the people who were still working on it (the 3’s and 4’s).

The people who achieved their goals knew their stuff (you have to, of course – success is not an accident), but so did many of the “in progress” people. In other words, you need to understand nutrition science – but it isn’t enough to get in great shape.

But then they looked at the response to this question:


“Have you ever had regular mentorship from someone who was in the exact shape you wanted to be in?”

Note: In this context, regular mentorship is defined as constructive and impartial feedback and direction, on a near-daily basis, for a continuous period of at least 3 months.

And check this out:

• 77% of the 5’s said “Yes” (37 out of 48)
• Only 17% of the 3’s and 4’s said “Yes”
• And less than 5% of the 1’s and 2’s said “Yes”

That’s a remarkable difference! 

Think about what that means for a second: you need to know a lot about exercise and nutrition, that’s true; but most of all, you need to find someone who’s where you want to be, and lean on them for help.

Question of the day

So, the question of the day is this…do you have somebody in your life that actually knows how to eat well – and is healthy enough, vibrant enough, and fit enough to demonstrate it? Seriously, do you have someone that can help you work through nutrition problems and troubleshoot obstacles, rather than just telling you to eat more proteins, carbs, and fats?

If you have a good role model in your social circle right now, someone who has already done what you want to do, and someone who can mentor you to success, make the absolute most of it!

If however you don’t already have a mentor like that, FIND ONE IMMEDIATELY.