Positve vs. Negative Associations

A quote that I really have come to put into play in my life is "To have quality people in your life, stop hanging around people who don't support you."

I have come to realize that not everyone we associate with is a positive person. Took me a while to figure this out. Nothing gets me fired up and enthusiastic about life as being around other positive people that see life as a wonderful journey with many great challenges along the way. Being around negative people sucks the life and energy out of me. I dread it.

I started to realize this in the corporate world within the last 2 years. I remember driving into work several days and watching the people walk from their car to the office building. It was the land of "walking zombies". No one had a "skip in their step", energy or even looked excited about being there and serving others. I started to believe the best parts of their day were their coffee and smoke breaks.

I recently did an exercise where I deleted people from my Facebook account and cell phone list that I believed to be negative people or "naysayers" in my life. It was an extreme exercise for me. I felt guilty for betraying these people by doing this.

Then I re-framed my beliefs.

• What did these people bring to my life?
• Was I excited or energized by communicating with them?
• Did they add any significant value to my life?
• Did I add any significant value to their life?

I am committed to living the rest of my life with a focus on quality, commitment, purpose, passion and a positive outlook. I have decided to associate myself with positive people. I believe positive people get positive results. I want to be associated with positive results.

Questions for You - Do you surround yourself with positive people with great outlooks on life? Do they provide you inspiration and hope?

If not, take a look at who you spend your time and energy with and make a decision on how you want to live the rest of your destiny.