Who Are You Surrounded By?
I have heard the expression that we are the average of five people around us. What does it really mean?
Consider the five people you spend the most time at work. Average their salaries and you probably will come close to your salary.
AT home, consider the attitudes of the people around you. If they are positive then most likely you are also positive.
How about your friends? Are they active or sedentary? If they are active, most likely you are active.
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It is not hard to believe this expression . Once we consider the different areas of our lives we can quickly see the reality that we are dealing with.
What can we do about it?
The obvious trigger response would be to eliminate the negative people and improve who is in your group of five. We all know hat this needs to be done BUT it is very difficult to sever ties with family members even though they might be the most negative influence on you.
We need to stop labeling. We do not need label people as a friend or not. In reality no man is your friend. Most people are too busy with their lives.
Similarly, not everyone who you disagree with or provides negative responses is your enemy. They might “feel” that way at the moment BUT later you recognize the wisdom of their council.
BUT everyone in your circles is a teacher. They are teaching you the norms of what it means to be in that circle. If that norm is not acceptable then you need to look for other teachers. Ones teaching what you need.
Over time spend less time with the ones that don’t average you up. This takes effort and continuous reminder that your improvement might not be all up to you BUT the group of teachers you surround yourself with.
No man is your friend
No man is your enemy
Every man is your teacher
Why the picture?
The two young women seem to be going somewhere. Most of the people around them are not paying attention to them or their bubble. One is directly engaging the other who seems to be focused forward and amused by what is being said. The person that directly is speaking has the most influence on the receiver. Sometimes the ones that influence us are the ones directly speaking to us.
