Be Cautious About Who You Surround Yourself With

Nikola TeslaPhoto by Zenobillis

Your reactions aren’t yours. Your limitations are theirs.

We’ve all heard that we’re the average of those we spend the most time with.

“Successful” people say to surround yourself with positive people. And when we look at the kind of people miserable souls surround themselves with, the results speak for themselves.

While there are many factors behind the reason why we find ourselves with certain people, whether it’s work, school or family — most of the time, we all have our own agendas, and that creates a conflict between our values and principles.

The next time you want to react or behave in a habitual way, notice how you got this pattern from someone close to you. Most of the time, our reactions come from our parents/caretakers, closest friends, and simply, those people we spend the most time with.

This is where it gets messy…

Of course, this pattern doesn’t end with our outward behavior, in fact — it goes deep within. Not only do we behave like people we spend time with, but we also think and rationalize according to their own train of thought.

As an example…

We think the world is in a certain way thanks to what schools taught us about physics, which they learned from physicists that existed a few centuries ago, whether or not their work is aligned with newer scientific discoveries.

And so on.

If everyone was perfectly healthy at all levels — mental, emotional and physical — this would be a blessing. But that’s not a fact in our current world. Instead, the fact is that we’re all at different point in our evolutionary journey — yet, we must find a way to live together.

That’s part of Life’s charm right? Being an individual, yet, learning about Oneness all at once.

How to accomplish anything

If we think about it. The main reason people eventually give up on their aspirations has less to do with their capabilities, and more to do with the kind of self-defeating thoughts and feelings they entertain — and believe in.

We all know what we’d like to achieve. We can all solve problems and find solutions to our lives’ puzzle. But the moment we begin, we’re flooded by people’s limited perspective we internalized, which we believe to be ours.

Learning to live means to be inclusive, to care for the group, the Earth, Nature and everything else. But, not at our own expense. Learning to live means embodying these paradoxical truths of living as a group, but also, living as an individual.

Ultimately, doing this depends on our own personal lifestyles. Sometimes we can change certain habits to improve things. Others, we have to question our beliefs, plus the thoughts and emotions they generate.

We all have something to offer. Regardless of what we believe may be preventing us from the living as we would want to, most of the time, these obstacles are more self-created than actual.

Do not stop yourself from living your life as you would want to simply because those that are around you find you too “ambitious,” too “unrealistic,” or too much of a dreamer.

Your circumstances don’t define you. What people say can’t limit you. Their fears, their limiting beliefs, their narrowed perspective  —  all they do when they try to bring you down is expose themselves.

You have all the power to create whatever it is that you want. But this power reveals itself to you once you declutter mind from other people’s unnecessary, and unhealthy noise.

Start small. Start now.

As a final note.

If you’ve been meditating, using affirmations and thinking positively for a while now, without necessarily integrating spiritual truths at a soul level even though you understand them intellectually — I’ve written a book to help you understand the main blocks to true spiritual growth, and how to overcome them. Check Spiritual Transition here.