Factors That Impact Positively on Lifestyle Choices (Grade 11 NSC Matric Life Orientation): Revision Notes
Factors That Impact Positively on Lifestyle Choices
Making healthy lifestyle choices is crucial for your personal development and wellbeing. Various factors can positively influence the decisions you make about how to live your life. Understanding these factors helps you identify positive influences and become a positive influence yourself.
What are positive lifestyle factors?
Positive lifestyle factors are influences that encourage and support you to make healthy, beneficial choices about how you live. These factors help you develop good habits, maintain your physical and mental health, and build strong relationships with others.
Recognising positive lifestyle factors in your environment helps you make conscious decisions about which influences to embrace and which to avoid. This awareness is the first step towards taking control of your personal development.
Positive role models
Key term: A positive role model is someone who inspires and motivates you to make healthy and useful lifestyle choices. These are people you admire and want to imitate because of their good example.
Positive role models demonstrate through their actions and words how to overcome challenges, work hard towards goals, and maintain a balanced life. They show you that it's possible to succeed despite difficulties and inspire you to believe in yourself.
Examples of positive role models
Real-Life Example: Amukelani Mashakeni
Amukelani grew up in a poor rural family in Limpopo. Despite failing matric initially, she didn't give up on her education. She repeated Grade 12 and achieved her goal of getting better marks to qualify for a bursary.
Amukelani believes that "each person can make an effort to improve themselves and to have balance in life. You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage to say no to other things."
Key lesson: This example shows how determination and perseverance can help you overcome initial setbacks.
Real-Life Example: Lucas Sithole
Lucas Sithole is a triple amputee who lost both legs and an arm in a train accident. Instead of letting this stop him, he became a top wheelchair tennis athlete with the goal of being the world's best wheelchair tennis player.
Lucas teaches us about dignity, Ubuntu, self-discipline, respect, and determination. He says: "Never underestimate or devalue anyone because of their physical challenges or other attributes."
Key lesson: Physical challenges don't define your potential - your attitude and determination do.
Parents and caregivers
Parents and caregivers play a vital role in helping you make positive lifestyle choices. Children often copy the behaviours they see from their role models at home, so parents can positively influence their children by:
Communication and support
- Supporting, encouraging and communicating openly with their children
- Educating their children about sexuality, abstinence, and healthy relationships
- Warning about the dangers of alcohol and substance abuse
- Accepting their children for who they are and showing love
Modelling healthy behaviour
- Demonstrating healthy behaviour by not smoking or drinking excessively
- Never driving under the influence of alcohol or whilst using a phone
- Providing healthy food choices
- Encouraging participation in physical exercise, sport and recreational activities
Setting boundaries and structure
- Setting clear rules and enforcing consequences when rules are broken
- Supervising study times and ensuring schoolwork is completed
The influence of parents extends beyond direct teaching - children learn more from what they observe their parents doing than from what they're told to do. This is why modelling positive behaviour is so powerful.
Case Example: Blake Williams
Blake Williams, an Electric Boogie champion, credits his success to his mother's support. He says: "My mother is the wind beneath my wings. With her in my life nothing can stop me from flying."
His mother stayed focused on supporting his career, showing how family support helps young people achieve their goals.
Peers and friends
Your peers (people the same age as you) can significantly influence your lifestyle choices, either positively or negatively. Positive peer influence occurs when your friends:
- Help you say no to risky behaviours like smoking or drinking alcohol
- Support your friendships that your parents approve of
- Encourage abstinence and safe behaviour
- Don't pressure you to skip school or avoid responsibilities
- Form study groups to help each other stay focused on schoolwork
- Provide helpful and safe advice when you have problems
- Can be trusted not to gossip about you
- Act as peer educators or counsellors
- Speak out against risky behaviour and try to influence others positively
- Listen to your goals and help you achieve them
- Engage in physical exercise and sports together
- Prefer healthy meals over unhealthy take-aways
Choose Your Friends Wisely
The people you spend time with have a powerful influence on your choices and behaviour. Surrounding yourself with friends who share your values and support your goals makes it much easier to maintain positive lifestyle choices.
Personal values, belief systems and religion
Your personal values (things that are important to you), beliefs, and religious faith can have a powerful positive effect on your lifestyle choices. These provide a framework for making decisions and can lead to:
- Healthy relationships with others
- Inner peace and positive attitudes
- Improved physical health
- Strong moral guidance
Religious influence on health
Many religions encourage healthy living through their teachings:
- Christianity: Some churches like the Zion Christian Church ban alcohol and smoking, and condemn sexual promiscuity and violence
- Islam: Muslims are encouraged to eat for health, while overeating and the use of stimulants are discouraged
- Hinduism, Buddhism and Seventh-Day Adventists: Often follow vegetarian diets, which can reduce heart disease
- Most religions discourage alcohol use and smoking
Key term: Stimulants are substances such as drugs, tea, coffee or alcohol that make you more active or give you more energy.
Religious and spiritual practices often promote self-discipline, community support, and healthy lifestyle choices. Even if you're not religious, adopting strong personal values can provide similar guidance for making positive decisions.
Media, social and cultural influences
When you use critical thinking skills, media can positively influence your lifestyle choices. The media provides freely available health information through radio, TV and the Internet.
Positive media influence
- Educational TV programmes and documentaries
- Limiting screen time (e.g., one hour of TV per day)
- Health-focused shows that promote good living
- Sports coverage that inspires physical activity
- Newspaper stories about people overcoming obstacles
Cultural influence
Key term: Culture refers to a set of beliefs and attitudes shared by a group of people.
Culture can positively impact lifestyle choices because many cultural traditions are based on healthy living and good relationships. For example:
- Many African cultures emphasise respect for elders
- Focus on family, belonging to groups, and community rituals create strong social bonds
- Some cultures like isiXhosa and Jewish cultures practise circumcision, which helps prevent STIs
- Cultural traditions often promote healthy interpersonal relationships
Think Critically About Media Messages
Not all media content promotes healthy choices. Learning to evaluate media messages critically helps you distinguish between positive influences and those that might encourage risky behaviours.
Economic conditions
Your family's economic situation affects how easily you can make healthy lifestyle choices. When economic conditions are comfortable, it becomes easier to:
- Live healthily with nutritious food
- Get regular exercise and join sports clubs
- Access healthcare when needed
- Take fewer health risks
- Focus on education and personal development
While better economic conditions make healthy choices easier, it's important to remember that people from all economic backgrounds can make positive choices - it may just require more creativity and determination in challenging circumstances.
Key Points to Remember:
- Positive role models inspire you through their actions and words, showing that challenges can be overcome with determination
- Parents and caregivers influence you most through communication, modelling healthy behaviour, and setting clear boundaries
- Peers can positively influence you by encouraging good choices, forming study groups, and avoiding risky behaviours together
- Personal values and religion provide moral frameworks that often promote healthy living and strong relationships
- Media and culture can be positive influences when you think critically and embrace healthy cultural traditions
- Better economic conditions make healthy choices easier, but positive choices are possible regardless of your economic situation