Who Do You Spend Time With?

“You are an average of the 5 people you spend the most time with” - Jim Rohn

I talk about this quite often because it is a huge factor to our well-being but not necessarily one that is easy to take action on.
I find for a lot of people, this extends beyond just the people you hang out with, but also the people you are witnessing on your social medias.
Do you watch people/shows that live for drama and hating themselves?
Do you spend time with other people who love to be self depricating?
Do you enjoy talking with people that constantly complain about their job, their life, their relationships?
Is nothing ever good enough for these people you bear witness to?

If so, chances are that you may find yourself involved in similar patterns of behavior.
Who we are around influences our choices, our beliefs and our thoughts.
In that same vein, how you talk about yourself will trickle into the people around you - what part do you play in this?
I am not telling you to cut out all the humans and start again because chances are there are some really great aspects to the people you spend time with,
BUT if you want to explore different ways of existing you need to shift the circles you find yourself in.

Want to have a better body image? Follow/hang out with people that have done a lot of work on themselves in this area and surround yourself with people that won’t put up with your self depricating, negative nelly behavior. These people will make you feel uncomfortable, but we all know that change is not comfortable. Sit with that feeling because that = growth.

Want to have a more abundant mindset? Take courses/surround yourself/get out and meet people who have thrived with this mindset and others that want to achieve it. Again, you will be challenged in your belief systems - but you can’t get to a new place by staying put in the old one.

Create boundaries around the people that aren’t desiring to change their mindsets in the same way you are (otherwise you will get incredibly frustrated) - this doesn’t mean cutting them out completely, it means creating rules around how you will let their behavior/thoughts/words affect you. Have an action plan when you spend time with them. What are your limits? Stick to them.

At the end of the day, we have control over the influences that come in and out of our lives - we just have to acknowledge this and take the necessary action.

Here are some steps to get you started:

Step 1: Who do you want to become? Do you want to be more body positive? Do you want to treat your body better? Do you want to be more successful in a certain area of your life? Answer these questions first - this is your desired destination.

Step 2: When you are online AND offline pay attention to how you feel being there. Is this helping you become the person you described in part 1? Or is it getting in the way?

Step 3: What boundaries can you set to minimize the impact of those people/places?

Step 4: Execute.

Step 5: Show yourself compassion when you find yourself falling into old loops/behaviors with people & groups you are trying to distance from.

Step 6: Repeat this every quarter!