Nutrition Nugget! Bite-sized bonus episodes offer tips, tricks and approachable science. This week, Jenn is talking about three decisions that will determine the next decade of your life. It sounds dramatic, right? But what if the decisions you make about the people you're spending time with, the content you're consuming, and the things you're actively building (or not building) are quietly shaping your future in ways you haven't considered? Jenn shares surprising research about how behaviors can spread through social networks like a contagious disease. So should you be evaluating your friendships with the same scrutiny you'd use for a romantic partner? And when it comes to what you're learning and building, are you making conscious choices or just going through the motions? Is there actually science behind the idea that your income reflects the five people you spend the most time with, and if so, what else might be true? Jenn breaks down these three critical decision points and challenges you to get intentional about where you want to be in 2036. Like what you're hearing? Be sure to check out the full-length episodes of new releases every Wednesday. Have an idea for a nutrition nugget? Submit it here: https://asaladwithasideoffries.com/index.php/contact/

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KEYWORDS: Jenn Trepeck, Nutrition Nugget, Salad With A Side Of Fries, Health Tips, Wellness Tips, Personal Growth Decisions, Social Environment, Mental Environment, Physical Environment, Intentional Living, Habit Formation, Community Building, Continuous Learning, Goal Setting, Relationship Quality, Social Influence, Health Behaviors, Contagious Behaviors, Friendship Criteria, Time Management, Self Development, Professional Growth, Skill Mastery, Life Design, Conscious Choice, New Year Planning, Long Term Vision, Social Contagion, Behavioral Patterns, Personal Development Strategy, Life Building, Memory Creation, Career Development, Wellness Planning, Friend Evaluation, Learning Investment, Environmental Influence, Decision Making Framework, Future Planning, Relationship Boundaries, Growth Mindset, Intentional Relationships, Life Direction, Personal Evolution, Habit Tracking, Social Circles, How To Choose Friends That Support Your Goals, Three Decisions That Determine Your Future Success

[00:00:27] Specifically three decisions that will determine the next decade of your life. I know it sounds big,

[00:00:35] Jenn Trepeck: something. Right. You know? Right. It feels very loaded. So I learned this, it was early November at a conference, sort of like a long weekend seminar I was speaking on. I actually did a talk about social media stuff, and this was from one of my business mentors in his talk.

[00:01:15] We can think of this as all of these questions kind of come back to a piece of our environment. But the people we surround ourselves with are like our social environment. And by the way, there is some wild research on this and like way beyond what you would even think. So New England Journal of Medicine analyze findings from a study.

[00:02:20] Over time, more and more of the inmates in that cell block developed schizophrenia. Wow. When she or they removed that original person, over time, the other people's schizophrenia dissipated. So there's some research now around this idea of mental health being contagious.

[00:02:58] And then that's what the [00:03:00] friendship became about. Yeah. Then it no longer was like, it didn't feel fun. And then when I sort of stopped speaking to those people, you realize like your whole kind of world shifts a little bit.

[00:03:16] So this one was the International Journal of Epidemiology, where they basically found that back pain. So they call it pain is a communicable disease that spreads through social contagion. So their study looked at early nineties, like East Germany and West Germany, and basically the incidence of lower back pain when they were two separate places versus when it was combined basically.

[00:03:58] Steph: Whoa. [00:04:00] Wild back pain. Just back though. What about like, my knee hurts,

[00:04:05] But like they studied back pain, but I, wow. I think it's just worth us then saying, okay, maybe we need to be careful who we allow. Into our sphere. Yeah. You know, like they talk about the idea of like your income is the average of the five people you spend the most time with or those kinds of things, but clearly it goes so much further than that.

[00:04:42] But if they hadn't done that, I probably wouldn't have.

[00:05:07] Single. We date ish, but we date and like, and we, people will say to us though, like, what's your criteria for a partner?

[00:05:16] Jenn Trepeck: Well, let's all just take a step back and decide our criteria for friendships. Yeah. There was actually a guy I dated. I was like in my twenties, but at one point, like I broke up with him and I was like, look.

[00:05:31] Steph: Well, I've been seeing a lot too on Instagram recently where it's like, are you the one that always initiates the plans or sends the first text and notice that, like notice those things. Like I also have friends who I know and, and some of it's, you know, history, but like I feel like I'm always the one that's initiating plans and I'm like, or making the effort to travel and to do this and, and you know, even some friends with kids and it's like, I understand like you have other stuff in your life, but like.

[00:06:15] Jenn Trepeck: And think through. Again, as we think about the next decade of our lives, who we spend our time with, do we need to find new community? Is it an investing club? Is it a new hobby or an interest? It's part of why I love group fitness. That's how we met, by the way. Yeah. Yeah. Like finding groups and communities based on things that are important to us or that influence us that are part of where we wanna be in 10 years.

[00:07:11] What we read, what we watch, what we listen to. This shapes our brain. It also then creates new opportunities going back to this thing of like, well, where do we wanna be in 10 years? It also goes back to number one of who are we surrounding ourselves with? What are the things that we're learning? And a lot of people attribute this to Malcolm Gladwell.

[00:07:57] What kind of work do we wanna be doing? [00:08:00] What do we wanna be an expert at? What skills do we wanna have mastered? Then what things do we wanna do for fun in 10 years, and what might we need to learn more now to move in that direction?

[00:08:12] Jenn Trepeck: so number two. What you spend your time learning.

[00:08:23] And so now going into my full year two, I'm like, okay, I learned so much in year one. Here's all the things I wanna do to take that learning and really move it to the next level. And I think professionally this translates a little bit easier to me because I've always been told, if you're not learning, you're bored.

[00:09:03] I love that. And it was more out of necessity. I was at a work conference. It was this jacket and it had big gold buttons, so it wasn't something that, like you couldn't go without a button. And I had a sewing kit in the room and I YouTubed it, and it probably took me way longer than it would've somebody else.

[00:09:40] Jenn Trepeck: Awesome. All right. So number one was who we spend our time with. Number two is what we spend our time learning. And number three. Is what you spend your time building. Oh, so this puts all of these things into action, right? To me, this is like the action step from the [00:10:00] learning. I also put this in the context of like experiences.

[00:10:28] Are you building memories? Are you building something or, I don't know, just existing.

[00:10:48] Build a life that, like I look back to your point about memories that I'm proud of and I can look back on hopefully 2026 if, you know, when we talk again in 27 and say, wow, like I built a great [00:11:00] year and these are the things that really stood out in the ways that I grew personally. 'cause I think you can always learn how to evolve and grow personally.

[00:11:35] If not. Then we might need to make some decisions more consciously until that new decision becomes habitual, because it would be fantastic for all of the habitual decisions to move us in our desired direction. In all of these places, like in the Tony Robbins world, he talks about this as the idea of like conditions versus decisions.

[00:11:58] Jenn Trepeck: Others will say, well, it's a function of [00:12:00] what you focus on. I pose it as these questions so that we can at least just get intentional and aware. So three decisions that will determine not just your 2026, but the next decade of your life. Yeah. Who you spend your time with, what you spend your time learning, and what you build.

[00:12:40] This is also the easiest way to learn more about working with me as your health coach. Steph, thank you again for joining me this week.

[00:12:51] Jenn Trepeck: Thank you. Happy New Year. Big things for us in 2026. I can feel it.

[00:12:58] Jenn Trepeck: I know all the [00:13:00] things. We're off to a great

[00:13:01] Jenn Trepeck: We are, and of course, if you are not already. Let your start be the Happy Healthy Hub. You'll go to a salad with the side of fries.com/membership. This shows your support for this podcast, this community, and above all, it supports your health. On top of the 24 7, ask Me Anything.

[00:13:39] Share us with a friend and we'll be back next week. Always remember you deserve it and you are worth it. Happy, healthy.