Surround Yourself With People Who…
Make a conscious effort to surround yourself, with positive, nourishing and uplifting people — people who believe in you, encourage you to go after your dreams, and applaud your victories.
Jack Canfield
It’s not easy, is it? Surrounding ourselves with people who are positive, nourishing and uplifting can seem like a tall order, when, on a day-to-day basis, we come into contact with so many people. And, people being people, they all come with their own unique collection of personality traits, problems, issues, good moods and bad moods!
Additionally we contribute to the mix with our own innate view of life, the things that we’re dealing with our general happiness quotient and suddenly it can seem almost impossible to consciously create the ‘perfect’ set of people in our lives (whatever that means!).
But what if we were to view this quote in more practical terms and ask ourselves what are we really trying to achieve in our lives?
How could we actually manage to get enough positivity, nourishment and encouragement so that in effect, we create a balance. Something that allows us to move in the direction we want to go, whilst acknowledging that the stuff of (ours and others’) lives will continue to affect us? It would certainly be something worth aiming for.
Surround Yourself With People Who Are Positive
I don’t know about you, but it can be quite a challenge to create a social or business circle which consists of solely positive people. And, in some instances, it can actually be detrimental. For example, if you’re working on a challenging project, having 100% upbeat, optimistic people would probably lead to failure.
Instead, creating a balance of optimistic people, who will attempt to push the project forward, whatever challenges arise, with others who are able to point out potential pitfalls can be useful. Treating any problems that have been surfaced as challenges rather than stumbling blocks then becomes a way forward.
And so it is when we’re working on our own goals and ambitions. In some ways, it’s important for you to play the role of major cheerleader for your own cause. This can then be balanced against any negativity that comes from others with a view to identify possible problems that could arise in the future. Your role would be to mitigate these issues so that they don’t stop your progress.
So let’s get a bit more specific…
Surround Yourself With People who Inspire You
Often, people who inspire you are further along your chosen path. They may even have already achieved the things you want. For that reason they will be inspiring; they may also be in a different social or business setting to you and therefore somewhat unobtainable.
This is natural, and whilst a direct approach (maybe via email) might work to gain a connection, a simpler way to connect will be through their social media channels, groups they run or are involved in, reading their books and/or the books they recommend etc.
Surround Yourself With Who You Want To Be
Which brings me to the idea of surrounding yourself with who you want to be. None of us want to be copied, and indeed, to be successful in anything you’re far better advised to be yourself, if for no other reason that it’s hard work to maintain a facade!
So with this in mind, how can you surround yourself with who you want to be?
Firstly of course, you need to know who you want to be. You’ve probably already got an idea of the things you want to do and have. Oftentimes, in order to do or have these things, you need to be the kind of person who has these things or does these things.
Obvious, right?! Well, unfortunately not.
If this were the case, then we would already be doing these things. Think about it, if you wanted to do any of these things…
~ Skydiving
~ Run a large corporation
~ Start a family
~ Run an animal sanctuary
~ Work for yourself
~ Qualify as a nurse
Etc…the list is endless, so please have a think about the things that appeal to you.
Now, consider: are you the type of person who does these things right now? In other words, if the opportunity arose right now, would you be confident enough to embrace it?
The chances are that you have some reservations. This is the gap between who you are now and who you want to be, and this is why surrounding yourself with who you want to be becomes incredibly useful!
Being part of a group of people who already do what you want to do will give you insights into the skills and knowledge you need to develop so you can inch forward day by day.
There’s nothing worse, I have found, than not knowing what you don’t know!
Surround Yourself With Successful People
So here’s your answer to this knowledge gap – surround yourself with successful people. But not just any successful people, but those who are already doing and being what you want to do and be.
~ Sign up for the class or course
~ Look for a mentor or coach
~ Volunteer for your favourite cause
~ Join an online forum or Facebook group geared towards your specific goals
These are straightforward, actionable steps. Their simplicity should not be underestimated however, because success only comes in taking action. Are you prepared to take even these simplest of actions to achieve your goals?
Related Post: Believe In Yourself for Success
Be Uplifting, Positive and Encouraging
Of course, it’s also important to remember that we need to be the example. That person who is (for the most part) positive, uplifting and encouraging. It’s often too easy to be drawn into a downward spiral of over analysing problems, gossip, negative news and general malaise that takes us away from our inward intentions of remaining positive!
This is why Jack Canfield says we must ‘make a conscious effort’. This kind of effort requires work. Work to stay ahead of our moods, work to keep perspective, work to opt-out of negative talk and instead turning conversations to more positive and uplifting subjects.
So, are you ready to surround yourself with people who…?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this wide-ranging subject. It is definitely a challenge to stay on track. What are your successes and failures, and do you have any helpful hints?
