You must constantly ask yourself these questions: Who am I around? What are they doing to me? What have they got me reading? What have they got me saying? Where do they have me going? What do they have me thinking? And most important, what do they have me becoming? Then ask yourself the big question: Is that okay? Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.
I chanced upon this quote recently and it really spoke to me. Often, the husband and I start discussing something else but end up on the topic of who we choose to surround ourselves with. We are very picky about the people we spend our time with and I think it isn't without reason.
In the past (when we were younger, single + also as a couple), we spent oodles of time trying to fit in, succumbing to peer pressure and doing stuff that added no value to our lives, except for giving us the momentary, fleeting pleasure of being included. I've walked away from these gatherings maybe with a small hangover, but never feeling enlightened or even remotely intellectually stimulated. At this stage in my life, I think I'm a little more self-aware (thankfully) and I try not to repeat the mistakes of my youth. So, it is important to me that I spend my time with people who improve me, make me want to be better, not lull me into a sense of "I'm comfortable the way I am, so I'm going to be THIS person and not do anything to improve myself further." If I can't meet a person who evokes this feeling in me, I read what such a person writes. For e.g - I read something by Seth Godin everyday because what he says/writes is meaningful to me and it makes me want to change some of my wasteful habits.
I personally feel that the quality of our daily conversations, whether IRL or virtual, play a big role in shaping our intellect. The more we surround ourselves with people who have something worthwhile to say about a particular subject matter, the more we are feeding our mind with information that can be useful to us in the future. After all, we are the average of the 5 people we spend the most time with (Jim Rohn).
Who are the 5 people you spend the most time with?