The Power of Association

Many of us are oblivious to how associating ourselves to a particular person, group or identity can determine how successful we are in life. More often than not, we tend to adapt ourselves to the people surrounding us whether at the workplace or at home. We do this out of habit, to be accepted, to follow the norms of our culture or environment we are being tossed into.

How often do you find yourself in a situation where you are forced into being someone you're not or behaving in a way you don't normally would, just for the sake of pleasing the person/group of people you're with? At times we have to adhere to the fact that we are unable to avoid all the people who are detrimental to our personal development. No matter how hard we try, one of these appalling characters are bound to pop up in the corners of our lives. When this happens, we have to choose to limit our associations with them should we be unable to get away from them altogether.

Again as intellectual beings, we often have selective memory patterns whereby we choose to only remember what we want to remember. This could be disadvantages in certain circumstances, eg. when attending lectures or meetings that require our full attention. However, when it comes to disassociating ourselves with negative personalities, selective memory is a good thing and will prove to be useful.

So when it it comes to choosing the people we should associate ourselves with, how can we tell the good from the bad? It's pretty easy really. Parasitic people tend to drain the energy out of us and make us feel hopeless and irrelevant. Positive people on the other hand are inspiring and full of life. They talk about being successful. They believe and have faith in us. They allow us to be who we chose to be. They give us just the push we need to be on the right path to success. These are the people we always want to be around and make friends with.

With friends or allies like these, our journey to achieve our heart's desire becomes more smooth-sailing. There are no obstacles that we can't overcome. With the right support system, lost hopes can be found and dreams can be realised, provided we allow ourselves to.