Surround Yourself Wisely

Matters of Heart & Mind Series

Matthew Kelly in his book “The Rhythm of Life: Living Every Day with Passion and Purpose” has written that, “The people we surround ourselves with either raise or lower our standards. They either help us become the-best-version-of-ourselves or encourage us to become lesser versions of ourselves. We become like our friends”…and how true is that! For time immemorial we’ve been listening to adages like, “birds of a feather flock together”, or “you are the company you keep.”

It is also said that we become like the 5 people we spend the most amount of time with.

So ask yourselves – Who are those five people for you? And once you have them in mind ask yourself these questions:

• Do they lift you up or pull you down?
• Do they infuse you with energy of drain it out of you?
• Are they humble or full of themselves?
• Do they inspire you to be kind or encourage you to be mean?
• Do they uplift your confidence or try to shatter it?
• Do they expand your knowledge or shrink your outlook?
• Are you a priority for them or just another option?
• Do they fill you with positivity or drown you in pessimism?
• Do they respect you for who you are or walk over you like a doormat?

Once you’ve answered these and if you are left with an uneasy feeling in your gut, know that it is time to take some serious action – for you deserve better!

When and if it comes to it, leave behind the ones that don’t matter. Also leave behind the ones for whom you don’t matter. And, don’t be afraid to fly alone, soar up like an eagle. Like they say, you might be outnumbered but at least you refused to be a pigeon.

So, associate wisely, surround wisely – both personally and professionally. And to end with Matthew Kelly… “Let your life be guided by greatness.”