{"id":70640,"date":"2019-10-21T17:05:25","date_gmt":"2019-10-22T01:05:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=70640"},"modified":"2019-10-24T07:29:04","modified_gmt":"2019-10-24T15:29:04","slug":"why-the-influence-of-your-closest-5-are-key-to-your-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/why-the-influence-of-your-closest-5-are-key-to-your-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the Influence of Your Closest 5 are Key to Your Success"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

When I first heard the saying \u2018you become the\naverage of the 5 people you\u2019re closest to\u2019, I instantly knew there was a lot of\ntruth to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thinking back at some of my earlier\nfriendships, I don\u2019t remember ever thinking that my friendship with them would\ninfluence the course of my life \u2013 but in hindsight, I can see that that\u2019s\nexactly what happened.
\n
\nFor good and for worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now I\u2019m of the opinion that the influence of\nyour friends has a subtle yet hugely powerful impact on your values, thoughts,\nactions and behaviours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a consequence, our closest friends\u2019\ninfluence will impact our goals and achievements in life.
\n
\nScary but true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll share a story from my own life and more\nimportantly, give you my view on how you can become better at noticing this\ninfluence, which ultimately means you are able to take control of your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


\nWhen I was a young school child, I remember being hugely influenced by my\nparents and teachers, who all emphasized the importance of studying hard and\nget good grades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far so good, I did indeed get good grades\nand got accepted into my first choice university. Hurray!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next phase of my life however was a bit\nmore chaotic to say the least. For the first time in my life I saw myself\nsurrounded by other young party-loving kids, and although I don\u2019t remember the\npoint where my goals and values changed, they sure as heck did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the next 3 years, the motto of my life\nbecame to just enjoy life and have as much fun and adrenaline inducing\nexperiences as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I joined the Wine & Cheese Society, took\nfencing classes and danced at Top Banana Club Night every Monday. You read that\nright, Mondays, not Saturdays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember feeling like I was \u2018living life on\nmy own terms\u2019, whereas looking back, I was just doing what all my other friends\nwere doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soon however graduation loomed and it was now\ntime to get a proper job. While the influence of my parents and teachers to get\nonto a graduate scheme still kept playing at the back of my mind, I didn\u2019t\nspend as much time with them as I once had, so their influence was weakened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, I got a brilliant idea to travel to\nIndia and work as a marketing intern in a PR company. It definitely felt like\nmy own amazing idea at the time, but in hindsight, going to a developing\ncountry for a year of adventure was a very popular thing to do amongst the\npeople I was hanging out with at university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you get the idea?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not trying to say I didn\u2019t have a choice\nin any of this, or that I\u2019m not grateful that I got a good education.
\n
\n
\nBut the truth is \u2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You rarely notice\nat the time, just how much you\u2019re influenced by the people close to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love the saying:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u2018Standing on the shoulder of giants\u2019
<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Meaning that people discover truths by building on previous people\u2019s discoveries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flip this around, and then consider the power that bad relationships can have on you. If you are close to people that have negative attitudes, beliefs and behaviours, this is slowly but surely going to rub off on you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you recognise\nthe feeling of meeting a friend, and feeling completely drained afterwards?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or meeting another,\nwho leaves you with a feeling of excitement and positivity?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The influence of friends is so powerful, that\nif you want to create the best life for yourself, you should surround yourself\nwith people who have lots of the qualities you admire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 This is different for everyone, but to\nme, this includes people who<\/p>\n\n\n\n