Monitor your inputs
As the saying goes and is well known in the personal development world, “You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” That average can influence your health, your wealth, your mindset, your personal philosophy – everything.
That average can also influence your energy, which I believe matters most since it effects every aspect of your life and being.
Think about it this way – if you are a “10”, hanging around with four other 10’s and one “2” – your average suddenly drops to an 8.7. Just by the law of averages and associations. What if you’re a 10 and hang out with five people who are 5’s? You quickly drop to a 5.8! Ouch.
If you look at who you spend the most time with – are they where you want to be or at least heading in that direction? Are they positively influencing you? Inspiring you to level up? Are they 10’s?
What if you don’t have people in your life who are successful or have the qualities you aspire to have? What if you’re not able to connect with people in person?
Especially important to note during the pandemic, “spending time” doesn’t mean just with physical people – whether that’s in person or on a call – and they don’t even have to be alive.
Who you spend time with can also be the books you read, the podcasts you listen to, the shows you watch, the courses you participate in and the music you listen to.
Sorry, there’s no room for excuses here.
You are in charge of what goes in your ears, what you watch, what you read, who you hang out with – and even where you work.
I consider myself to be in a rebuilding or rebirthing stage, and I’ve consciously chosen to pull away from the world and rebuild from the ground up.
Full transparency, when I took an honest look in the mirror and at my life, I didn’t like the person I was becoming and the direction I was heading. So I’ve been discovering who I am, why I’m here, how I can serve and contribute, who I want to be, what impact I want to have on my family and the world and have been focused on taking the steps to become someone I can be proud of.
Part of that process for me has been going within, meditating, doing yoga and spending time in nature everyday.
I’m also ensuring that the inputs – what’s going in my brain – will eventually shape me to be the best version of me. I read everyday, I go deep in my studies in energy, spirituality, personal development and business and I listen to thoughtful podcasts. I choose to spend the majority of my time with a very select few mentors, people I want to emulate.
We each have the same amount of time – so why not use as much of it as possible by spending time with and learning from people who have what you want? It’s easy to do and doesn’t take any extra time. It just takes making a decision, having some self awareness – and wanting more for yourself.
What if you skipped that mind numbing tv show and watched an inspirational talk, or inserted an awesome podcast or audio instead of the news? What if instead of scrolling through social media you picked up a personal development book? How about filling your transit time with a transformational audiobook?
It doesn’t mean you can’t do anything fun or relaxing anymore – I still indulge in a great movie or a show like Outlander or Vikings, and I love listening to country music! I just make sure that the vast majority of my time is spent with “people” who have what I want and who can help me to be who I want to become.
The quality of your inputs over time will determine the quality of your outputs.