“People are like dirt. They can either nourish you and help you grow as a person or they can stunt your growth and make you wilt and die.”—Plato
Jim Rohn famously said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” I find this to be true. People will either lift you up or bring your down. The choice is ours. Plato is correct. People either grow you or they stunt your growth.
Averages are a funny thing. One outlier can skew the distribution and affect the average. That one negative friend you cling to brings your “average” down, no matter how many positive friends you have. Likewise, if you find yourself in an unescapably toxic environment, find that one very positive outlier who can bring your up—to fertilize your soil, so to speak.
Be the positive one in the group. Seek to be only encouraging and supportive. It will do wonders for the people around you—and you.
There is truth to what Jim Rohn said, but he leaves one factor out of the equation—you (me). To say that one is “the average of the five” neglects our own self-influence and one’s influence on others. It removes us from personal responsibility for our state of “well-centeredness”. We can and must strive to elevate our Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, and Social well-being above those around us. Certainly, we should, as well, seek those who will pull us up rather than bring us down.
An important thing to ask ourselves is: “Am I having a positive or negative effect on others’ averages?” Remember, we are also one of the five with whom someone else is spend their most time with.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow.
Carpe momento!