When you were growing up, your mother told you, “Choose your friends.” I’m going to say the same thing to you.
Don’t
just spend time with the people who are most available to you or with
the people that’s right in front of you. Be deliberate with who you
spend your time. Because your future will be shaped by the people you hang out with.
First,
there are Nourishing Friends. After hanging out with them, you feel
inspired. You leave their presence encouraged. Enlightened. Elevated.
Second, there are Negative Friends. After spending time with them, you
feel drained. Deflated. Depleted. Discouraged. Damaged. And
sometimes, devastated.
If Nourishing Friends are Terrific Friends, then Negative Friends are Toxic Friends.
It’s
their negativity that saps our energy. They complain a lot. They love
to criticize others. They love pointing out the faults of others.
Here’s
my advice: Love yourself and avoid Toxic People. Life is short! You
only have a short time on planet earth. Hang out with the people that
nourish you.
Some
Christians think that because God calls us to love all sorts of people,
we have no choice but to spend time with the Toxic people 24 hours a
day. We feel guilty and think, “My gosh, if God chose to spend time
with the lovable only, then He wouldn’t have spent time with me.”
But that’s precisely the point. You’re not God. You have limits. Love yourself and give yourself the gift of limits.
Look.
I’m not saying, “Don’t love Toxic people.” We should. But if you’re
spending 80% of your time with Toxic people and 20% of your time with
Terrific people, you need to invert the proportions. Be deliberate in choosing who you hang out with.
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