Whether we like it or not, we are heavily influenced by our external environment. Even since the day we were born, we have been influenced by our parents, grandparents, peers and the social media.
Yes, it is true that as human beings we have been bestowed by God with the human endowment of being able to choose our response regardless of how hard the circumstances we face. But the thing is, there will be always times where we react to circumstances instead of being proactive. This is because we have not invested enough of our time and selves to be influenced by the “right” influences. Whether we like it or not, we are who we are today because of the decisions we made yesterday. And these decisions were made because of our prior factors which influenced us. Knowing this, it is therefore very important to be aware of the things that influence us.
There are 3 things which influence the way we live our lives:
1) The literature we read and the entertainment we watch
2) The people we associate with
3) The ideas and thoughts we think about
If you have children, would you just allow them to be brainwashed by the television? By the internet? By their friends? With the same caution, it’s very important to be careful of the things we allow ourselves to be influenced. The existence of pessimistic people is not a matter of coincidence. Pessimistic people are pessimistic because they have allowed their minds to be fed by bad news and negative thoughts. On the other hand, there are those who are moving ahead in life because they expose their minds to be influenced by things and people which help them in living a high quality life.
On the literature we read, we should be investing our time on reading those materials which focuses on helping us develop ourselves mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Sure, it’s good to be updated by our daily newspaper but it’s usually saturated with bad news (because of higher profits compared to good news). Also, there are other mindless pocketbooks and reading materials which have nothing to contribute to our lives or are even obstacles to developing the human person. We should never waste our time and money on these things. It’s far better to invest ourselves on relevant books and materials which talks about leadership, motivation and personal development. By doing so, we develop both our character and our ability to be more effective in living life.
On the entertainment we watch, we should never watch anything for the sake of watching it. A lot of people are addicted to watching mindless television shows and internet videos. Social media is a very powerful tool in influencing our behaviors, attitudes and view towards life. We should be selective on what we watch and invest our time on those which validates life principles and what it means to be really human.
On the people we associate, it’s our very nature to get along with people. But as the old saying goes, “Birds of the same feather flock together.” As I see it, we are who we attract and more importantly we become the people who we associate with. Drug addicts hang out with drug addicts. Criminals associate with criminals. Drunkards get along very well with other drunkards. One of the reasons why we’re not happy with the way we live our lives is because we surround ourselves with people who are not happy with their lives. A lot of us are not successful because a lot of us are surrounded with unsuccessful people. To win in life, we need to associate with winners and be influences by their attitudes, the principles they uphold and their views on life. To live a high quality life, we need to be surrounded with people who live high quality lives and with those who are very supportive in our endeavor to do so. The power of association is very powerful in influencing the way we live our lives.
But in the final analysis, all of the great literature, entertainment and people which we choose to influence us are useless if we remain to entertain self destructive ideas and thoughts. Having the ability to choose our response to our circumstance is a double edged sword. It can either be exercised as something positive where we choose to be proactive or choose by default to entertain negative thoughts and ideas despite of all the good things around us. The ideas and thoughts we choose to think about impacts dramatically the way we live life because, whether we like it or not, our ideas and thoughts are our reality. Ideas and thoughts are things because everything in this world is created by ideas and thoughts. To live a high quality life, we need to commit to ourselves to have the right attitude and to focus on ideas and thoughts capable of contributing in the creation of a high quality life.
There are a lot of things capable of influencing us. In becoming the best persons we can be, being influenced by what’s good is something that God wants for each and one of us. It’s far easier to be influenced by things that don’t matter and to complain and blame than to choose to be influenced by more important things and to live a quality life. Each one of us is called to be influenced by what’s good so that we can also be good and inspirational influences to others. As we let our own light shine, other people begin to believe on their capability to be good and will also let their light shine. In this world marred by too much negativity, pessimism and evil, it’s about time for us to be influenced by what’s good so we can also be influencers of that good.
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