How to Choose the Right Friends and Associations

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Studies show that when you play with an overweight person, you increase your chance of being overweight by 57%.

Over 12,067 people were studied for 32 years, from 1971 to 2003, and it was found that those who hung around overweight people also started gaining weight.

Another study at the University of California found that if a close friend gets divorced, you are two times more likely to become divorced as well.

And when a workmate divorces, your chances of divorce increase by 75%.

What’s the Meaning of All This?

I am NOT saying stay away from overweight people or people who are going through marriage problems.

I am saying this to show you that you should never underestimate the impact of the people that surround you in your life.

When you hang around happy people, you become happier too.

If you hang around happy married couples, your marriage also starts to improve.

And if you hang around people who are making more money than you, you will start making more money.

When we hang around people, it is more than just their perfume that rubs on us. Their attitudes, beliefs, and habits also start to rub onto us.

That is why we start to laugh the same way they laugh, or even to talk like they talk. We start to eat a lot like they do or to exercise a lot like they do.

Friendships are Real Ships Because They All Take Us Somewhere

You can’t play with people who are going nowhere and expect yourself to go somewhere.

– MOFFAT MACHINGURA

You can’t play with negative people and expect to live a
positive life. You can’t play with bitter people and expect to keep a sweet
soul.

It’s Not Just a Clique, It’s a Culture

All friends exist to support a certain culture, habit, or belief in our lives.

– MOFFAT MACHINGURA
  • Some of your friends exist to support your laziness (that’s why all they ever bring you are a bunch of movies and TV series).
  • Some of your friends support your prayerfulness; that’s why whenever you meet, the Bible becomes your topic of discussion.
  • Some of your friends support your alcoholism. Even when you are trying to budget your money, they buy you so much alcohol that you feel ashamed to keep hiding your own savings.

You start withdrawing from your savings and buying them some alcohol too.

  • Some of your friends exist to support your infidelity. They help you cheat on your partner. Sometimes they lie to your partner on your behalf – saying you spent the night at their place when you were somewhere else.

All friends exist to support a certain culture, habit, or belief in our lives.

That is why some people quit drinking and drugs and still come back to it again. It’s because when they quit certain habits, they didn’t quit the friends who have long existed to support those habits in their lives.

How to Choose the Right Friends and Associations in Your Life

Choose Friends According to Where You Are Going, Not Where You Are Coming From.

– MOFFAT MACHINGURA

If you want to be successful in business, choose friends who
are keen to make money.

Stay away from friends who don’t want to be rich and from those who want to be rich through hurting others.

– MOFFAT MACHINGURA

 If you want a happy long-lasting marriage, hang around happy couples, and stay away from those single friends of yours who mock you every time you say you have to get home early to your partner.

If you want to succeed at school, hang around the smartest people in class and stay away from those backbenchers who mock you for spending time in the library.

Final Words

Studies also show that people who ruin your life stay for less than three years in your life. They come for a short time, but in that short time, they teach you habits that you take a lifetime trying to break.

Friendships are like vehicles; they take us somewhere. So if your life is full of endless drama, remember this: when you stay away from dramatic people, drama stops happening.

Remember to share this with your friends, they will thank you forever.

I will take time to read and reply to your comments. You can also comment anonymously.

Drop your comment below.

About the author

Moffat Machingura

Unlock the secrets of ancient wisdom interwoven with modern psychology. Moffat Machingura, bestselling author and acclaimed Sage (Wiseman), guides over 100,000 readers on journeys of self-improvement, finding love, keeping relationships running, and healing wounded souls.

He is your guide to personal transformation, helping you make-over your life and build joyful love relationships. Are you ready to unlock your own wisdom and rewrite your love and life story?

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