Surround Yourself with the Right People for Success

Motivational speaker Jim Rohn famously said that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. Think about who those people are for you. They have a huge impact on your life.

Now think beyond those five people, to larger groups of people you spend significant time with. Those people affect you as well. They affect what you eat, where you go to eat, what you wear, if you workout, how you workout, what you do in your free time, what tv shows you watch, what books you read, what activities you have your kids do.

Do those people enrich your life? Are they happy? Do they make you happy? Are they successful? Do you respect them? Do they encourage you? Do they have healthy habits? 

Think about your ideal self—the person you try to be daily, and the one you are working towards becoming. Do the people you surround yourself with support your efforts? Will they help you become your ideal self? Are they the types of people that your ideal self would surround herself/himself with?

If you answered "yes" to all the questions above, great! Continue to get support and inspiration from those people. 

If you answered "no" to any of the questions, you need to find people who will help you be the best you. There are plenty of them out there! They may not live next door, but there are groups for just about anything these days. And, with social media, it's easy to find like-minded people.

I work alone and want to connect with other fitness professionals who share my enthusiasm for helping people lead healthy lives, so I attend industry conferences; I joined a mentorship program; and most recently, got involved with a company that offers all sorts of ways to help people achieve their fitness goals (my goal!).

I just ran an online nutrition and workout challenge through a private Facebook group I set up. People posted what they were eating, doing, their questions, struggles, and total strangers responded with answers and support - it was great!

Even if you are successful, independent, motivated & optimistic, you can still be negatively affected by some people. But luckily, the opposite is also true—you will benefit from being connected to people who are prosperous, disciplined, healthy & happy :) So, find those people! 

Make sure you are connected to people who will help you be your best self—you deserve it!