One of the 8 Principles of Healthy Living is to surround yourself with worthy people. What makes a person worthy? Dr. Saul Levine describes worthy people as those who achieve a state of Being, Belonging, Believing, and Benevolence. I love his explanation, as this description encompass all aspects on one’s life, not just the outward. I strive to become a worthy person one day!
But for our purposes here, I’m going share my definition of a worthy person, as it pertains to contented living. Someone who is a good person, one who provides a positive impact within another’s life & encourages them (through various means) to become a better human – that’s a person I want to be around.
When we started this journey together, we talked about how surrounding yourself with negative thinkers will likely prevent you from fully realizing your goals. Likewise, if your group consists of people who don’t share your value of personal growth, professional development or general principles, then you need a new group.
You are who you surround yourself with. If you surround yourself with positive thinkers who encourage you to make good choices, give you knowledge and help you learn from your mistakes, you’re more likely to succeed. When you surround yourself with those who bring you down, you’ll never achieve your goals.
If you want a different life, you’ve got a make a change.
Tony Robbins says, “The only thing that changes our life long-term is when we raise our standards.”
What does that even mean??
Do you want to be a better version of yourself this year compared to last? Do you want to learn how to be more positive? Maybe you’d like to go back to school and develop a new skill set. Or perhaps you want to revamp your diet and start exercising for the very first time in your life.
The fact remains: you are only as good as those you surround yourself with. If you have a support group of negative thinkers, then you will have a very difficult time achieving your goals. Positive thinking & supportive family/community/friends encourage us to vacate of our comfort zone, raise our standards & make a change.
Our closest relationships are often the ones that provide the most influence in our lives – both for good and bad. Change is uncomfortable – don’t you want to be surrounded by those worthy people who can champion you and encourage you through the growing pains?
The Five Steps to Surrounding Yourself with Worthy People
1. Make a choice to be a more positive, supportive person.
If you want to surround yourself with worthy people, be worthy yourself. Make a choice to become more positive in your thinking, kinder in your actions, supportive with your words. You’ll be surprised how this in turn attracts positive & supportive people to you.
2. Separate Yourself from Negative Thinkers/People
If you want to make positive changes throughout your life, then you need to eliminate the negativity in it. That often means distancing yourself from negative thinkers. Those that do not provide encouragement, never promote personal growth and will not be able to champion you towards a better life. This might be the hardest step, because the people who hold us back are sometimes the people we’ve known the longest. But those who truly love you, also want you to be happy. So, if you want to make positive changes or improve your life, steer clear of those holding you back.
3. Get to know like-minded individuals.
You need to surround yourself with worthy people who can show you the ropes, teach you the skills you don’t currently have and guide you through some of the stumbling blocks that change inevitably yields. Those who have ‘been there’ and are eager to help share their knowledge & experience to get you to a happier place are who you need around you.
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- Perhaps you want to train and complete your very first triathlon. Your training buddy will not be that friend who doesn’t value exercise, can’t see why you want to do this in the first place and would rather just meet you for a beer. Instead, you need to sign up to join a group of triathletes. Find others who also want to learn how to develop endurance strategies to bike, run and walk. Together, you’ll be able to successfully accomplish such a challenging goal, perhaps raise money for a charity or even awareness for a cause.
- Likewise, perhaps you decided that you want to learn how to cook. You might want to join a cooking class sponsored by your local grocery store, exchange recipes with a friendly neighbor or subscribe to a cooking magazine. You’ll get more support, encouragement, and helpful advice from those avenues than if you were to mention your dream in passing your less-supportive partner who prefers junk food and take out.
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4. Create a Network of Champions
You need a good support system or network of champions to provide encouragement as you strive for your goal. Change is difficult, so much so, that sometimes you might feel compelled to quit and take the easy route. Having positive thinkers, champions and supporters on your team will help you overcome those doubts and help you succeed.
Who should I surround myself with?
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- For starters, you should never be the smartest person in the room or best player on the team. Having someone better than you in any environment challenges you to perform outside of your current boundaries, creating an even better version of yourself.
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- Surround yourself with people who work hard, don’t make excuses, and have an internal drive to succeed. They don’t have to be the smartest person you know, but their fortitude should inspire you.
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- Make sure you have dreamers in your group too. They need to hear your wild stories or ideas and encourage you to take that next step. If you aren’t naturally a visionary, you need one on your team.
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- Your team should also include positive thinkers – those that can pick you up after a setback and keep you moving along to your goal. When you are faced with a challenge along your journey (& you most definitely will), you need that person in your posse to see this challenge as an opportunity for redirection, stimulus for creative thinking, and motivation for continued growth.
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Even your most supportive friends and family cannot help guide you along paths in which they are unfamiliar. Of course, they can provide encouragement, hugs and help around the house when you are busy. But you need like-minded individuals to share ideas with, force you to live outside of your current limitations and develop new skills.
5. Get outside your comfort zone
“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” ― Henry Ford
If you want to make a change, you’ve got to do something different. Often times, that means getting outside the sanctuary of your cocoon and placing yourself into environments that challenge your thinking, expose you to new ideas and introduce you to like-minded people.
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- Maybe you want to write a book. Take classes on book writing, go to seminars that feature established authors, go to book signings and pick the brain of successful authors.
- Maybe you want to change careers. Enroll in classes at a nearby college, enlist the help of a career counselor and join a group for aspiring individuals.
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You need to be uncomfortable as you grow. If you are complacent, you aren’t growing.
Conclusion
In order to live a happier & healthier life, you need to surround yourself with worthy people. Find those positive people who encourage you, support you, champion you and keep pushing you to achieve your goal.
Move away from the negativity. Surround yourself with people who challenge & inspire you to become a better version of yourself.
While you’re at it – you can be a positive person in someone else’s life too!
