Why You Should Choose Your Friends Wisely
“If you hang out with chickens, you’re going to cluck and if you hang out with eagles, you’re going to fly.”
The management expert Jim Rohn once said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
This is an important concept to understand and one worth paying attention to.
Ideally, you want to surround yourself with a peer group that helps you improve.
The reason?
Because, as social animals, we don’t like to be the odd one out.
So even if you’re a good person, if the people you associate with most do bad things, you’ll adapt your behaviour to conform.
It’s why people often say, “He was a good kid, but he just fell in with the wrong crowd.”
David McClelland, author of The Achieving Society, observed that the major difference between success and failure is your choice of a ‘reference group.’
These are the people you hang out with the most.
If you associate with ambitious, motivated and positive people, you will start to embody those values in how you think, act and present yourself.
There is a reason why having a good mentor is so impactful.
As the philosopher Goethe once said: “Tell me with whom you consort and I will tell you who you are.”
With this in mind, here are some questions to ask yourself about your current group:
Are they the ‘right’ type of people? Do they help me in a positive way?
Should I spend more or less time with them?
Who should I be spending more time with?
Reflect on your answers, and don’t be afraid to make some changes.
Cutting out those that drag you down and asking someone you admire to be your mentor can be a significant step in the right direction.
Your future self will be grateful.
Aside from hanging out with inspiring people, there are other ways to level up in life. You can also learn from them through our practical online masterclasses.
