“Keep away from small people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”
~ Mark Twain
One of the single biggest indicators of where your life is going is the kind of people you surround yourself with. Take a look at the people around you. Do they lift you up or do they tear you down? Do they inspire you or do they suck you dry? Are they bubbling over with “Yes!” or are they bogged down in “no?”
I’m not talking about surrounding yourself with bobblehead yes-people. Some of the most important people in my life are more than ready to call me on my shit. They’ll question what I’m doing and point out my (sometimes painful) blind spots.
AND they celebrate my dreams. They help me work through the down spots and share my joy in the up spots. They believe in me, even when I don’t. They don’t let me forget the power and depth of what I have to offer, even when I feel like an impostor.
And they inspire me. That inspiration might be through their ability to think big, but it’s just as likely to be the way they find such joy in the small things in life. They inspire me to take action toward my dreams, and they inspire me to stay grounded and live in the moment.
The people in your life have the potential to create a greatness incubator. They have the potential to create an environment where you can step fully into you are, and who you can be.
Try this: Take stock of the people you spend time with in your life. Make a laundry list of family, friends, colleagues, co-workers – anyone you spend a significant amount of time with.
For each of the people on the list, ask “Does interacting with this person support my greatness, or does it inhibit it?” (This is a bit like the Gain-to-Drain Ratio evaluation.)
Doing this gives you a better awareness of what’s really happening. And that awareness is the starting point for being able to consciously cultivate that greatness incubator in your life.
Tomorrow, I’ll explore some ideas for how to tip the balance toward support and inspiration.
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