Who are you?

You know the saying, you heard your mom, your teachers, probably your grandma say it.. you are who your friends are!

Well, I have witnessed this lately, in my own life and my daughter’s, both of us making some choices that weren’t bringing out our best side. We had to have the talk. Theyou are who your friends aretalk.

Do the people you surround yourself with lift you up? Do you admire them, do they bring out the dreamer in you, the silly, the giddy, the philosopher, the critic? How is your self esteem around these people, do you leave feeling good about yourself, better even?

I know, not everyone will be this amazing. You can’t choose your family, amiright? But you can choose who you spend most of your time with, who you’ll put aside other cares to be with. Those who support your goals, who lift you up, who share similar paths in life.

Let’s put it another way, imagine you are on a journey to become a healthier version of yourself, you want to cut down on drinking and add a little more fitness into your routine. Yet on the weekends, you continue to hang with a group of buds that really enjoy drinking and tend be a bit overweight, who do not put much priority on physical activity, and give you a bit of a hard time about your new life choices.

I get it, these are good friends, you don’t just give up old buddies, you don’t become the fun buster no one likes. But you do back off a bit, you maybe visit monthly with these old pals instead of weekly, to protect your goals and current priorities. If you were trying to lose weight, I wouldn’t advise moving next door to a bakery. Just sayin.

Take care of you. That is not selfish, it is you putting yourself on the path to achieve your dreams, to feel good about who you are, to protect your self-esteem. Look to those who lift you up, who share your priorities, who support your goals, who can relate to the BEST version of you. Go get ‘em, tiger.