Take an objective look at the people in your life. Identify the ten people with whom you spend the most time.
Do these people inspire you? Do they have qualities that you are drawn to and that you would like to emulate?
How does their energy feel to you? After spending time with them, do you feel recharged and positive, about the same, or drained and negative?
These are important questions, and if you’ve never paused to deliberately think about how the people in your life are affecting the quality of your life, right now is a good time to do it. Here’s an easy 5-step exercise to help put it in perspective:
1) Make a list of the ten people with whom you spend the most time.
2) Look at the first name on your list, establish their presence clearly in your imagination and pay close attention to how you feel. After spending time with this person, do you usually feel energized, drained or about the same?
3) Place a mark by the person’s name.
“+” if they energize you.
“-” if they drain you.
“0″ if there is no change.
Don’t over-think this step. There may be a few surprises here for you. Just go with your first impression feelings. You can trust them. They don’t lie.
4) Continue through your list, rating the people in your life energetically, based on the feedback you are getting from your emotional guidance system – your feelings.
5) Act on what you have learned. Spend more time with the “+” people and less time with the “-” people.
You probably already know which people are energy drainers and which ones give you a boost. But, this exercise brings it clearly to your conscious mind. Once you see your list in front of you, it’s a good first step toward inspiring yourself to make a positive change in the quality of your life. Now you know what you need to do, by choosing deliberately with whom you spend your valuable time.
If the people you spend the most time with are inspiring, supportive, encouraging, and they demonstrate qualities you want to emulate – great - you are on the right track. If not, it’s up to you to do something about it.
There may come a time when our commitment to personal development brings us to the point where we can be near anyone with any kind of energy without it affecting us at all. Spiritual masters, gurus and saints are reported to have this ability. Instead of being affected negatively, their vibration uplifts and purifies the negative dross of anyone in their vicinity. We can all do this in varying degrees, but until we master our energetic capacities, it is simply more efficient to pick and choose our friends and companionship deliberately to keep our attitude positive and joyful.
