Who are your 5 People?

“Stay Away From Negative People. They Have a Problem for Every Solution”  Unknown

Who are you hanging out with? 

We’re social animals.

The vast majority of us need the company of others in order to function and feel fulfilled. That’s why nearly everything that we do is built on a social framework. We play in groups. Nearly all our games and sports require multiple people being involved. We work in groups. Nearly all of our jobs are performed as a member of a team or a group. We learn in groups. From Kindergarten playgroups to College clubs. 

We as human beings are not only social animals, we are also consensus builders. In order to be social, we have to want to avoid conflict and promote harmony.

Under certain circumstances, we can begin to behave in a certain way simply because everyone else who we observe is behaving that way. We stop questioning whether the behavior is good or bad or, at best, we acknowledge that the behavior is bad, yet continue to act in the same way out of a sense of resignation or to avoid perceived conflict. 

Your inner circle should be bringing out the best parts of the real you. They should not be inhibiting those parts or preventing them from developing as they should. When you are with the people who comprise your current inner circle, you should never have to agree to an action or an idea that you don’t agree with. You should never have to suppress yourself. You should never be less than all that you can be. If you feel that the people around you are keeping you from growth, you have a duty to yourself to replace them with people who will empower you to be your true self.

‘You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.’ Jim Rohn

• As consensus builders, we tend to reflect the opinions and tastes, the likes and dislikes of the people around us;
• This is why on average we tend to act and think like the five people we spend the most time with;
• If you are not happy with some of the behaviors exhibited by the people you spend the most time with, then you have to look and see if those behaviors are having a negative effect on you;
• If they are, then you have a duty to yourself to take the steps to begin building an inner circle that has the power to support you and nourish your growth;