Are Your Friends Worth Having If You Want To Be Successful?

Friends are usually not seen as anything more than people to keep us company. Most of us have that one friend — or maybe two — that we trust more than anyone else and who we come to with our problems. Friends like these are important because they give us emotional support.

Everything in this world has a purpose — or at least ought to be given one by us. It may seem like an egocentric way of looking at the world, but it is a smart way of living. Just as every action has a consequence, every person that you spend time with and interact with will have an effect on you.

Those with positive energy and a positive outlook on life will often at times show you the bright side. Those that waste their time here in this world will only slow you down and bring you down to their level. If you want to live a life full of fulfillment and success, you need to carefully screen those who you label as friends.

Our lives can be compartmentalized into several categories, which are almost always accompanied by social interaction. Whether you are going to school or holding down a job or two, you come into contact with people. When you go grocery shopping, go out drinking or use public transportation you interact with others.

How often does one unpleasant interaction with a stranger leave a sour taste in your mouth and ruin the rest of your day? If a stranger can affect your state of mind so greatly, imagine the significant effect those closest to you can have.

Unlike those that we meet on the street, those that we consider to be our friends have a more subtle effect on us, which becomes profound after months of repetitive interaction. The effects will sneak up on you and, depending on the audience you keep, will either make you better or worse for it.

It is a relatively well known fact that those that keep a circle of friends that are diligent, intelligent, successful and have a general appreciation for life itself are much more likely to pick up these preferred traits. Being surrounded by people with certain views on life and certain habits, it’s likely to rub off. Human beings, like other animals, have what is called the system of mirror neurons.

It’s exactly what it sounds like; we see someone do something and we automatically copy their actions. This is an involuntary act — it happens on its own accord. When we converse with people we are likely to adapt their styles of talking and vocabulary as well as their body language. We are wired to work together and affect each other whether or not we wish to.

For this reason it is crucial to surround yourself with those that you wish to be like and to stay clear of those you believe to be living wrong. Spending time with your friends ought to be a time that you not only have fun, but a time that you can grow as a person.

Your friends should be there to help you become a better person and you, likewise, to help them. Conversation ought to be stimulating and you ought to be learning. Having friends that discuss the same dumb shit day in and day out is pointless.

People that cannot come up with new interesting topics of discussion are obviously not doing anything with their lives. There is so much going on at all times that not having something to discuss must mean that you are sheltered from reality.

Your reality is what you make it. Groups of close friends weave their own web of reality. Certain interests become focal points that later are what our thoughts revolve around. If you are continually fed inspirational and motivational knowledge, then you will find yourself contemplating the same positive things when you are away from the pack.

If you have a group of friends that dwells on stuff of no importance or things imprinting negative energy, then you will find yourself having similar useless or negative thoughts when you are on your lonesome. The friends that you keep are entirely in your control.

Many of us have friends that we have kept since our preteen days. We may have many good memories shared with them, but if they have served their purpose and the friendship is at a standstill, then it is time to let them go. You must decide the life that you wish to lead and find those with similar aspirations, or better yet those that have already achieved what you hope to one day achieve yourself.

Finding yourself a group of individuals that will inspire you to be better and to stay focused is one of the greatest weapons we have in our arsenal against mediocrity and failure. Just like the rest of the variables in your life, your friends must also serve a purpose. Life is too short to be wasted amongst those that don’t know how to live. You have to look out for yourself first and foremost.

Paul Hudson | Elite. 

@MrPaulHudson