Chose your counsel, company & companions wisely

At first glance the quote above can seem a little tough or harsh.  But if you look a little closely these are actually words of comfort, caution and consciousness pointing you to your own inner wisdom.

The quote itself was inspired by a short video a friend of mine sent to me this morning. It was a short little bit of comedy – but it spoke so deeply about the world we live in, people, personalities and the human condition.

This quote is not a million miles away from my other quote “you will rarely make wise decisions if you surround yourself with fools.” Both quotes invite you to really consider the people in your life, the role they play and your mindfulness around it. But it also invites you to consider whose advice you seek out on specific matters. Think twice about seeking the advice of a baker on banking of or a fisherman about kite-flying. Of course they may have experience or they may have a fresh perspective – but the point here is being very mindful.

There will be times where you specifically want the view of someone who is not an expert on something. There will be times where this is apt and shrewd but be aware.

Stop for a moment, consider the people in your life, consider the time you spend with each of them. Is it wise for you to up the time spent with some and reduce the time spent with others? I’ll never forget the time when running one of my career development programmes when on day two of the programme I asked delegates how they found day one. Day one was all about self awareness, self love, self confidence and end with me inviting people to consider those in their lives. One of the ladies on the course reported back that she used to spend up to three hours per night on the phone supporting a friend! Can you imagine that; up to three hours per night? She went on to report that she told this friend that she’d no longer be available to do that. It must have taken a lot of courage. As she told this story you could tell the burden that it had removed. She was not saying she would no longer have the friendship or be of help but she had realised that it was unwise to continue how it had been. The friendship had been nearly all one way traffic – it also was robbing the lady on my course of space for her own life, progress and wellbeing.