Last week, for me, was about reflection. I started my week off reflecting on some much needed health goals for myself and what path I’m going to take to reach my healthy me.

I attended a wellness group for women in my community where we discussed and reflected on creating and supporting my new health journey both mentally and physically. By the end of the week, I embarked on a new endeavor that I finally had the guts to jump into. Just when I started to feel a bit overwhelmed with my new goals, feelings and thoughts, I came across a wonderful article on Zenhabits.net entitled Finding the Motivation to Change Your Entire Life.

Written by Leo Babauta, the article is short and sweet and just what I needed to finish out the work week. The thought of changing your life is all well and good, but actually following through is the tough part.

In my wellness group, I heard over and over that when you seek to make healthy changes, you should strive to make lifestyle changes versus short, ineffective change; and the Zenhabits article echoed that sentiment. When reading the article, one of the bullet points on taking action to make change, really stood out to me:

4.Surround yourself. The best way to make change happen is to surround yourself with others making a similar change themselves, others who will support your change. Find a few people online or off, and create a support team that will check in with each other regularly. Yes, this might take some work. Yes, you can do it.

Being the embodiment of a homebody, I have recently stepped out of my comfort zone by becoming more actively involved in my community and putting myself into situations where I meet other interesting and inspiring people. Whether through a community arts project or joining a wellness group for women, the brief interactions and connections that I make with these strangers have turned them into constant, silent motivators even when they’re not around.

Throughout the days and weeks that I don’t see or interact with them, conversations and nods of understanding come into my mind and it provides a calming affect when I begin to feel stressed or anxious.

Being around them shows me that I’m not the only one struggling through the things I’m struggling through and it allows me to see in real time that I’m not alone. When I go back to my home and get cozy on the couch, my mind doesn't race with fret and worry, but has slowly started to shift into more positive, big picture thoughts - visualizing the new goals that I have set for myself and being confident in achieving those goals. The neat part about that is, there are folks out there who support me, even if they don't know me that well and even if they don't know they had that big of an impact on me.

I’ve already surrounded myself with the best family and friends a girl could ask for, but having the support of complete strangers does something different to me. It's a level of compassion that even I can barely explain.

My advice to you, if you are seeking a new journey, some motivation or a life change, read the article linked above and seek out groups that can offer you an environment that will feed your need and support you. Sometimes, the simple understanding from a stranger is what it takes to put your life and priorities in perspective.