Surround Yourself With Growth-Oriented People
27. Surround yourself with growth oriented people.
There are two types of people, motors and anchors. Motors are going somewhere, anchors just drag you down. In the beginning of the book we expressed this view on how there are two types of people in this world. I find that the successes of many are not solely held back by themselves but by the company they keep. This does not mean blaming others for holding you back. What it means is your surroundings can affect your ability to achieve happiness.
For example, think about a garden. If you are trying to grow a specific vegetable or flower, you can’t just throw some seeds on the ground. You need to surround it with soil that will give it the best chance to thrive. You need to remove weeds that will cause problems for the garden. Also, you need to work it with water, fertilizer, and on occasion do a little bug removal. What this all means is that you choose where to plant your seeds and what things will surround your garden.
This can be a hard Tool to use. Often the people who surround us are family members or friends we have had for a very long time. Herein lies the question, do you continue to hang out with these people knowing they are sidetracking you along this journey of life? If you are having trouble growing, sometimes the best thing to do is simply take a look around you. It is hard to grow in a toxic environment. It is also hard to build what you are trying to achieve when you are constantly repairing things for those around you.