The Power of Influence

Your father may have warned you when he saw you hanging out with bad company: "Remember, you become your friends."

A maxim from Goethe conveys this idea even better: "Tell me who you walk with, and I’ll tell you who you are."

Be mindful of who you allow into your life—not as an arrogant snob, but as someone striving to cultivate the best possible life.

Ask yourself about the people you know and spend time with: Are they making me better? Do they encourage me to move forward and hold me accountable? Or do they drag me down to their level?

Now, with that in mind, ask yourself the most important question: Should I spend more or less time with these people?

The second part of Goethe's quote reminds us of what is at stake in this choice:

"If I know how you spend your time," he said, "then I know what you may become."

"Above all, keep this in mind: never get so attached to your old friends and acquaintances that you are dragged down to their level. If you do not, you will be ruined. [...] You must choose whether you want to be loved by these friends and remain the same or become a better person at the expense of those associations. [...] If you try to do both, you will never make progress nor retain what you once had."

—Epictetus, Discourses

📌 "Remember that if you join someone covered in dirt, you can hardly avoid getting a little dirty yourself."

—Epictetus, Discourses

📚 (Excerpt from The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday)

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