It All Starts With Who You Hang With
It’s been a while since I posted anything but a quote (and my take on it… ), but this week is going to be a little different.
I read Seth Godin’s blog everyday and here is a great post, something we should think about:
Association
Who you hang out with determines what you dream about and what you collide with.
And the collisions and the dreams lead to your changes.
And the changes are what you become.
Change the outcome by changing your circle.
Another take on this is the oft-quoted: you are the average of the five people you hang out with most – there are some really good reasons for how and why this is true.
One simple way to understand this is that it’s uncomfortable to be different. So we either remove ourselves from a situation or find a way to alleviate – or eliminate – the discomfort.
To alleviate, we empathize with the other person, or group. We seek to understand their point-of-view and why they are how they are. (And, we adopt their view(s), or at least moderate our own views towards theirs.)
Eliminating the discomfort is more drastic, either we split or we become like the person/group. Unfortunately, this becoming is sometimes quiet and gradual – before we know it we fit right in!
Choose better. Pick good friends and water-cooler-mates. Seek out those who do what you want to do, and are doing what they want to do.
Who you hang out with matters. In fact, it’s one the few things that truly does.