How to choose your social relationships

One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned in life is to surround myself with the “right” people. The saying you are who you surround yourself with is very much a valid statement and it’s important to choose wisely. We are social beings by nature and we are part of a collective consciousness that is bigger than just ourselves. Through social interaction, we develop ourselves further emotionally, spiritually, physically and mentally. Communication is a vital part of our lives and our cognitive development and sense of belongingness very much fall into this. The quality of your relationships determine the quality of your life.

The people we choose to spend our time with can influence us greatly, sometimes without us actually recognizing this. Choosing the right circle of influence depends solely on who you are as a human being, what you are interested in and where you are going in life. There are two questions that you should always ask yourself in regards to anybody you choose to give your time to:
What value do I give to this person?
What value does this person bring to my life?
Discovering the answers to these two questions can further help you understand where you are at in your relationships and how important they actually are to your life.
What are three types of people then you should be investing your time in?

PEOPLE WHO INSPIRE YOU
There is no greater way of growing as a person than having those who you admire in close contact to you. People who inspire you play a vital role in your development and being in direct contact with those you look up to can impact you greatly. Surrounding yourself with those who are doing better than you and have achieved greater things in whatever areas of their lives will open your eyes to endless opportunities. Our cognitive development very much depends on the social modeling concepts and learning valuable lessons from others is truly a blessing. These people could be anybody, your mentors, your parents, a teacher, even friends who are doing really doing very well in life. By interacting with these people, you learn how to see the bigger picture and how to discover your potential and then applying this to achieve your successes.
PEOPLE WHO SUPPORT YOU
You can become truly unstoppable when you give and receive love. There’s no doubt that love is the most powerful emotion and the ultimate drive behind everything we do. When you live with love for yourself and other, the world gives you love back. Our emotional state is influenced a great deal by the people we choose to open our hearts to. This puts us in a vulnerable state and showing vulnerability brings out the beauty and true essence of our souls. Happiness comes from many things, mostly from working on ourselves and discovering who we truly and having people around you who truly love you is very important. Being part of a social community where you receive love, support and encouragement further ads to your emotional state and reinstates your sense of belongingness.

PEOPLE WHO CHALLENGE YOU
These people are very rare but can impact your life greatly. They see your potential and abilities and want to help you achieve greater things. At times it can be exhausting and frustrating because being challenged means that you have to face your fears. Therefore people who challenge you will very often push you to recognise and overcome the obstacles that are stopping you from reaching even higher heights. They do so because they care about you and want to see you do even better because they know it’s in you. If you are a driven person yourself, you will find that you can push through anything to achieve your goals and live the life you want to live. But having an external influence that pushes you paired up with your internal drive is like gaining double the power. They challenge you from a place of love and their intention is pure, to simply help you see yourself the amazing person they see in you.

There are many ways you can create a great environment for yourself and not all relationships will be perfect. Always remember that the value you get from your social circle of influence and the one you give back is what ultimately makes the relationship a worthy or unworthy one. Time is precious so spend it with precious people. ​