25th July,2023
Jim Rohn said: “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
The people you spend the most time with shape who you are. They determine what conversations dominate your attention.
Audit the people around you. Make sure that you’re spending time with people who are in line with what you want for your own life (preferably people “better” than you so it raises your average). Isn’t this thought compelling and provocative.
A reference group, is a group of individuals or social entities that influence an individual’s beliefs, attitudes, and behavior.
These groups serve as a benchmark for individuals when forming their opinions, evaluating their self-worth, and making decisions.
People often seek validation and acceptance from their reference groups, leading them to conform to group norms and adopt similar behaviors and consumption patterns.
Darren Hardy, the author of The Compound Effect, refers to a study conducted by Dr. McClelland of Harvard University, which apparently came to the conclusion that up to 95% of your success (or failure) is determined by our reference group.
Reference group was a term used for the people you associated most with.
As humans, we may have a natural inclination to adapt to our social environments, which is often referred to as the ‘Chameleon Effect.’
The Effect describes our tendency to unconsciously mimic the behavior, attitudes, speech & gestures of people we associate with.
So if our ‘Reference group’ is driven, motivated, positive, we will also absorb & start to mimic these traits and the converse is also true.
I prefer friends I am uncomfortable with, who may not praise me when
I am right but will be the first to criticize me & point me in the right direction when
I am wrong.
Choose your ‘Reference group’ wisely & stay blessed forever.