Why You Should Choose Your Friends Wisely

I’ve found that the more I grow up, the more selective I am about friends. With less time on my hands and a stronger desire to connect with people on a deeper level, I mostly only pursue friendships that I think will become meaningful. I’d much rather have a few super close friends that I can share anything with, than a large group of surface-level friends. But choosing friends isn’t just about finding “your kind of person”, because friends actually have a greater influence on you than you think.

Has anyone ever told you that you have a similar mannerism to one of your friends? Or you start picking up your friend’s most used phrases? This has happened to me quite a few times, where I’ve noticed reflections of my friends in myself, and vice versa. It’s proof that whoever you surround yourself with has a direct impact on the way you react to the world.

Picking up a small phrase or mannerism doesn’t seem that significant, but if something so unique can easily be transferred between friends, then morals and attitude can easily be transferred too. In the most simplest sense, if your friend is super negative, that’s going to drag you down to a negative mindset as well. I’ve found that when I surround myself with positive and happy people, I start feeling their energy too. [I touched on this briefly in my Creating a good/positive aura blog post.]

I’ve learnt over the last few years that it’s so important to have friends that drive you to be a better person. I notice qualities in my friends – their ambition, their self-development, their confidence – and it inspires me to make those changes in my own life too. I feel like everyone in your life makes an appearance for a reason, but sometimes you have to choose who is worthwhile keeping – keeping toxicity in your life only prevents you from moving forward in your own.

I am so grateful to have friends who genuinely do motivate me to become my best self, but also challenge me to see and act beyond my means, as well as supporting me in whatever I do. It’s so rare to not only form but keep friends that really understand and care for you, and I feel really lucky in that sense.

So next time you’re out with your friends, ask yourself:

• Am I inspired by them?
• Do they bring out the best version of myself?
• Do they motivate and encourage me to initiate positive change in my life?
• Are they supportive of what I do?

 

Because if you surround yourself with people who you genuinely admire, you can’t help but achieve great things.

 

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You can find me on social media here:

Instagram: @mymindspeaksaloud

Twitter: @mindspeaksaloud

it’s a kind of death. [poem]

eighth prompt: a love poem. this one turned kind of dark. it’s from the perspective of an outsider to love – someone who is trying to make sense of another’s toxic relationship but can’t fully understand because they’re not within it.

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hand swinging from the rope of an arm

it’s a kind of death this is

this love is.

smiling into the darkness

the tip of a candle casting

light across the white of an eye

that knows what it’s like to die

love that swims in the potion that I

can’t seem to fathom.

it’s too far for me to understand

but I see what that rope is

doing to your hand

and you can’t stop it

no you can’t stop it

no you can’t

ssh