I recently came across some advice (mainly on health and motivational articles) which is growing in popularity but somehow does not make any sense to me.
The advice is :
“You are the average of the 5 people you hang out with”.
Another variant is “you are the sum of the 5 people you hangout with”.Among other things,you can conclude that Maths is not the strongpoint of the people who propagate the above stated views.Many people mistake these statements for truisms.
A normal person who works 8-9 hours a day (which is a huge chunk out of a 24 hr day) may have colleagues with varied tastes and backgrounds, which should not necessarily divert one’s focus.
Being exposed to a lot of people expands our perspective and increases our inventory of ideas.
That being said,you should limit interaction with time wasters,non-risk takers,naysayers…just about anyone who drains your resources and makes you lose sight of your goals.
Jesus Christ who had 12 disciples had to face a lot of distrust and negativity while propagating his message of forgiveness and eternal love.He was certainly not the sum/average of anyone.
Bill Gates met his best friend and mentor Warren Buffet at the age of 36.He did not have a set social circle that contributed to his exponential growth.
You don’t have to limit your social contacts to a number.Some people have just 2 friends who mean the world to them and they are happy about that.It all boils down to what you want.
So Reach out and make new connections,read more books and be open to new experiences;Your experiences will shape your mindset and ultimately your life.
Further Reading:
JustThunkIt 