Eliminating Negativity
I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to speak and be taught by many different coaches and mentors. Some of them have very differing views on many topics, and I’m able to take those views and mold them in 
to my own. However, there is one specific lesson I’ve learned from almost all my mentors and coaches. This one lesson has truly transformed my life in more ways then one.
This lesson I learned is, “you become the average of the five people you associate with most”. What exactly does this mean? Well, in short it means that you are the people you hang out with. If you hang out with drug addicts, your chances of becoming a drug addict are greatly increased, and if you hang out with millionaires, your chances of becoming a millionaire are greatly increased.
To maximize your potential using this strategy, answer the following questions:
- What kind of person do you want to be? (i.e. millionaire, healthy, happy)
- Who are the 5 people you spend the most time with?
- Do those 5 people posses the qualities of the person you want to become?
- Now list 5 people who you feel posses the qualities of the type of person you want to be.
- How can you get in contact with these people?
Following up with this lesson is the idea of getting rid of some of the negative people in your life. Lately, this idea has created quite a stir with some people I’ve spoken with. One big question I get from many people is “what if these negative people are my family whom I love?” This is a question that I can relate to on many levels.
Here’s my answer:
I’ve had many negative people in my life in the past; from good friends to crazy girlfriends to my family, I’ve seen it all. I’ve parted ways with some friends and some crazy girls, however family will always hold a place in my life. Although some people in my family may be negative, I still love them wholeheartedly and would never abandon them. What I’ve learned to do in this situation is to learn to not let these people get a hold of me. I’ve learned to run my own course. Family is an extremely important part of anybody’s life. The best advice I can give is to love them with everything you have and turn your back to the negativity.
Sincerely,
Adam Kappel
