Tag Archives: Jesus Christ

You are not the Sum or Average of Anyone

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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:

You’re The Average Of The Five People You Spend The Most Time With

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Distribute your Time across the Age Spectrum to Enhance Learning

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Here’s why increasing interaction with “old people” and children is extremely important

During my college days,most of my friends were of the opinion that “old people” could not possibly have any relevant views on the constant changes that happen around us because they were “not current”.Though this seems to be the general view of all teenagers,it is VERY FAR from the truth.

People above 50 have  experienced a lot in their lives and you can learn a lot from their mistakes.I always say this :

Learning from others’ mistakes is an integral part of learning.

Also,’old’ people look at things in a different way which can be both eye-opening and fun.Though we are in a day and age where anything can be searched via Google ,the facts and their context which you can learn from  real conversations can never be undermined.

Nobody likes to reinvent the wheel.

If you want to avoid a lot of time re-learning things,spending some time with “experienced people” should be on your life and career agenda.

Most people just regard children as ‘beginners’ who should be indulged and smiled at.Children generally don’t have any preconceptions and are like a sponge for learning (until they are ‘educated’).The power of children was highlighted by Jesus Christ in the Bible when he said

 “Leave the children alone, and don’t try to keep them from coming to Me, because the kingdom of heaven is made up of people like this.” Matthew Ch19 verse 14.

The essence of the above quote indicates that retaining a child-like wonder for things is essential to achieve greatness.Interacting with children does improve your entire well- being and keeps your soul light.

 

The common excuse that people give for avoiding “old people” and children is that they are slow and take up a lot of energy.

Life is short but you’ve got to remember that you were a kid once and will be an old man in the future.

The memories of your interactions will expand your perspective ,add to your inventory of ideas and make you a well-rounded person.So the next time you feel like spending time with people in “your age group” only,think again 🙂

Image credit : http://www.jaymantri.com