"Do not be deceived. “Bad company corrupts good morals.”
1 Corinthians 15:33
Behavior rubs off whether you want it to or not. John Maxwell, in his best-selling book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, said in “The Law of the Picture,” “People do what people see.” It’s not just leaders and mentors who model the behaviors that we pick up; it’s our inner circle of friends, coworkers, those vertical to us, and those horizontal to us.
You become like the people you hang around with. You become the average of the five people you spend the most time with. Jim Rohn once said, “If you hang around five people who are rich, you’ll be the sixth.” The opposite is true, too. It is true for wealth, weight, the things you wish for, and ultimately, for who you will become. If you desire to change your life, surrounding yourself with people who will influence you for the better and not for the worse is essential. Jettisoning the wrong group of friends is not easy for anyone once you know they are not the right fit for you. Even Jesus didn’t hang around some of the leaders of the day. How can you identify the right vs. wrong types of people?
The Right People in Your Life Will : The Wrong People in Your Life Will:
- Believe in you. • Foster doubt in you.
- Want you to grow past them. • Want you to stay down with them.
- Want you to grow in your purpose. • Want you to just get by.
- Run with those ahead of them. • Stay with those who don’t push them.
- Encourage you to go the extra mile • Want you to take shortcuts with them.
- Want you to follow a path of success • Make excuses to take the easy road.
- Set a good example for you to follow • Want you to compromise on principles.
- Challenge you to be more than you are • Want to keep you where you are.
- Encourage you to focus on priorities. • Distract you from reaching your goals.
REFLECT TO CONNECT
- Is there anyone in your life who doesn’t belong?
- Do you allow them to remain because of their strength or your weakness?
- Whom is God reminding you to remove from your circle of influence?
Character imprints face-to-face, so watch whom you hang out with.
