There will come a point in your life where you will have to sit down and carefully think about your future. Looking at the most successful people in the world, don’t you ever wonder how they did it- how they attained their success?
I decided a while ago that there is nowhere for me to go but up. I am not talking about heaven- that’s a story for another day. I decided I wanted to be successful.
I knew that I wanted to achieve that success through adding value to people’s lives.
To be successful one has to make an obscene amount of sacrifices, that’s a given fact. There is another factor that plays a huge role, which in some way seems to underlay itself below the other important factors of success.
Relationships
We all want to have or be in relationships. We want to get married, have friends, date someone and get along with our parents. These relationships are the ones that help us achieve our goals and be able to make our dreams come true.
Relationships are vital to who we become and the decisions we make.
There are people in our lives that are not good for our wellbeing. They have mentalities that negatively impact our futures and the way we perceive life. These people are detrimental to a major part of our success.
Maintaining relationships that are filled with excuses, dishonesty and negative self-talk will harm you in a big way.
Don’t be misled, bad company corrupts good character — 1 Corinthians 15:33
Bad relationships corrupt us. They contaminate our characters with negativity. Once your character is contaminated, it is not easy to change it or make it better.
Bad company can consume your thoughts.
People will influence you in the most pressing ways and because you pay attention to what they do and say, you will begin to adopt their behaviours and ways of thinking.
You will begin talking the way they talk, acting the way they act and eventually see the world through their eyes.
It is astonishing how the mind works.
Research shows we can copy (mimic) other people’s feelings, thoughts and behaviours.
The solution
There is a way to salvage this. If you can model bad characteristics of a person, you can also model good ones.
You have to remove yourself from bad company and associate yourself with people that will impact your life in a positive way.
These people will influence you for greatness. They will compel you to achieve your goals and work hard. They will support your dreams and speak life into your work and efforts.
They are good for your state of mind and journey in life. These are the type of people that you need in your life.
CONCLUSION
Choose your associations wisely. Not all people who come into your life have good intentions. Some people have mischievous intentions to cause harm and division. Remember; there are people who will be a blessing in your life and others will be great lessons.
Originally published at medium.com