1101904488 (N) by Jason Wachob

Author:Jason Wachob
Language: eng
Format: azw3, mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781101904480
Publisher: Potter/TenSpeed/Harmony
Published: 2016-03-01T07:00:00+00:00

Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.

–DEAN VERNON WORMER, ANIMAL HOUSE

Peer pressure can be extremely powerful. It doesn’t take a bad person to influence others to make bad choices. In terms of social groups, decision making can be a slippery slope. Often it isn’t one defining moment or decision that changes your life for better or worse but several small ones. As with reading a map while driving, you make a series of wrong turns that collectively add up to going so off course, you wind up in another country.

And sure, some of our behavior had to do with being young, testosterone-filled guys who were trying to be cool. But it also shows the power of social groups and how difficult it is not to go along with everyone else. It has nothing to do with being weak or strong; it’s about fitting in. Feeling you’re part of a group, feeling you belong, is one of our key needs—especially as teenagers.

But if social groups can lead to ridiculously unsafe and unethical high school and college misbehavior and mischief—which even led me to a night in a jail cell for drunk and disorderly conduct (it’s never a good idea to attempt to steal a street sign)—they can also lead to incredibly powerful inspiration and change in adulthood. I’ve seen proof of this through mindbodygreen.

In the wellness community, I have met some of the most inspiring, healthy people in the world. Some of them have become my closest friends. Rather than a culture built around underachieving and partying, this friend group is built around true support. When you hang around people who think big, follow their passion, and are doing amazing things, it can’t help but rub off. Numerous times, a dear friend or I have come up with a wild, big idea that most people would immediately frown at or poke holes in. But instead of that, we bounce ideas around and often take the concept to another level.

Through life events like marriage, work, and having kids, your social group does tend to get smaller. Rather than being a composite of the twenty people that you party with, as an adult you’re a combination of the five people you hang out with the most. From time to time, it’s a good idea to list those five people in your life and evaluate how they’re affecting you.

Who do I spend most of my time with now, other than my wife? Who are the people that I choose (and choose is the key) to be around, who support me, inspire me, and bring out the best in me?

One of my good friends, who thinks bigger than anyone else, is Tara Stiles. Tara is one of the most successful and well-known personalities in the yoga community. Recently she visited our new, much larger office in the Dumbo section of Brooklyn. She easily could have said, “Wow, this must be really expensive. How are you paying for this? Are you nervous about making the rent?” Instead, she was happy for us.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.