Sharing 4Leaf

Helping without proselytizing

One of the chapters in our new book addresses the challenge of helping your friends, family and co-workers learn to benefit from healthy eating without alienating them. It is entitled, “Proselytizing NOT Recommended.” Here is an excerpt:

“My guidelines on proselytizing are similar to my thoughts about selling. No one likes to be “sold” anything. I prefer the word “marketing,” which can be described as a subtle process of cultivating a desire to purchase something. Here’s my list of behavioral guidelines on this delicate subject:

  1. Never offer unsolicited advice to anyone.
  2. Don’t make negative comments about an unhealthy looking meal someone else is eating.
  3. Never talk about health or diet with anyone unless they ask for your opinion.
  4. When people do ask for information, try to keep your initial response to a minimum. If they want to know more, they will ask.
  5. Try to keep delicate discussions one-on-one. If someone asks about your eating philosophy in front of a lot of people, try to offer a concise, courteous response–then offer to continue the conversation later, perhaps over a healthy meal.

So you might be thinking, if we can’t tell people about the powerful truths that we have learned, how can we make a difference?” For starters, we can follow this simple advice from Gandhi:

Be the change you want to see in the world.”

The 4Leaf Survey is a powerful tool that can subtly help the people you care about learn to take charge of their health and do some wonderful things for the environment at the same time. Just send your friends and family to the online survey at 4leafsurvey.com.