I don’t know who you are, or where you’ll be in 5 or 10 years. But if I just met your friends I’m pretty sure I could take a pretty accurate guess. The people who you are exposed to the most plays a big role in your happiness, health, and work ethic. The quality of your life is determined by your friends so choose them wisely.
Recent studies on happiness showed that the happiest people had one big thing in common. They all had a strong social network. Having a strong social network doesn’t mean knowing 1,467 people. It’s more about quality than anything.
“Show me your five closest friends, and I’ll show you your future.” – Bill Cosby
The people that are around you the most will rub off on you and so will their attitudes about health, work, loyalty, working out…..EVERYTHING!
You’re more likely to take social cues from a friend than from a family member. That means that if your friends are overweight, and don’t take fitness seriously…..you’re bound to feel the same way, eventually.
You can take examples from all walks of life. An article in Relevant Magazine talks about Donald Miller going to a prison and hearing inmates’ stories about their convictions. As it turned out, most of the inmates were there because of relationships.
I’m not saying that the people around you have some supernatural mind control on you. They just have strong influence. Humans are designed to want affirmation and love. We’re inclined to search for that by trying to be more like the people around us.
It also applies the other way around. If you want to be happy, successful, healthy, or fit….spend time with people that have those qualities.
It’s similar to the reason people have workout partners. If you’re into fitness, then it would make sense to want to workout with Rich Froning or Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Their attitude and determination would rub off on you.
The bottom line is, make the friends that you want to be like. Their way of life will carry over into yours. You have control over your own life, but part of that is managing the people that you’re exposed to.
I hope you liked this article and it inspired you to find friends that portray the life that you want to lead. If you liked this article, please share it on facebook. Here’s another good one about Finding The Perfect Personal Trainer.
About Adam Pegg
