“This is sound practice – to refrain from associating with men of different stamp and different aims.” – Seneca

It has been said that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. There is probably some truth to that. We are going to pick up traits, behaviors, habits, and even thoughts from the people we most closely associate with.

As a result of this, if we are choosing to associate with people who are o n a different path than we are, or even worse, not on any path at all and just being pulled through life by their emotions and their reactions to the world around them, we are going to get distracted from our own path.

There is a balance that has to be struck here however, we can not just abandon loved ones and friends because we have decided to change the direction of our own lives. But we can not allow them to distract us from the things we hope to accomplish. We need to be able to detach a little bit, see when it would be better to not associate and then step back without distancing ourselves from them.

And we should be making new friends and companions who share our goals and are on the same path. Because companionship while we are working towards something is the best encouragement to continue on.

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