You Are The Average Of 5

Introduction

You Are The Average Of 5 emphasizes the significant impact the people you surround yourself with have on your growth and success. Popularized by motivational speaker Jim Rohn, this idea suggests that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.

Their attitudes, behaviors, and mindsets influence your own, whether you realize it or not. If you're surrounded by driven, positive, and successful individuals, you're more likely to adopt those traits. Conversely, if your inner circle consists of negative or complacent people, it may hinder your growth.

In this article, we’ll explore how your environment shapes your mindset and how surrounding yourself with the right people can accelerate your personal development.

Prerequisites

You'll resonate with this principle if you've had any of the following experiences:

• Noticing that your habits or mindset change based on the people around you.
• Feeling stuck in your growth due to negative influences in your social circle.
• Seeing self-improvement when surrounded by supportive, driven people.

Why Your Environment Shapes You

The people closest to us exert a powerful influence on our thoughts, actions, and attitudes. Whether we realize it or not, we absorb their habits, behaviors, and even their mindset over time. Humans are naturally social creatures, adapting to their environment to fit in and belong.

Positive Influence for Accelerated Growth

Being around people who challenge and inspire us can help us grow exponentially. When our circle consists of like-minded individuals who are driven and continuously working on their goals, we're more likely to adopt similar attitudes and habits. This shared energy pushes us to be more productive, take on challenges, and continuously improve.

Additionally, learning from their experiences saves us time by helping us avoid common mistakes and benefiting from their insights.

“Spending time with people who are passionate about their goals made me realize I could push myself further than I thought.”

Negative Influence Can Hinder Progress

Just as the right people can lift us up, being surrounded by individuals who are negative or complacent can slow down our growth. If the people around us have a fixed mindset or prefer staying in their comfort zone, it can be hard to break out and pursue our ambitions. Over time, we may begin to adopt their limiting beliefs, and our progress will stagnate.

“I used to believe I couldn’t achieve certain things until I started hanging out with people who encouraged me to try.”

How To Apply "You Are The Average Of 5"

Here are a few strategies to help us apply this principle in our lives:

1. Understand What Kind Of People You Want To Be With

As we change, the people we surround ourselves with should align with our growth. Take a close look at those we spend the most time with. Are they helping us grow, or are they holding us back? It's important to ensure that those around us challenge and support our development.

“I realized that some of the people I spent time with weren’t aligned with my goals, and it was impacting my growth.”

2. Build a Supportive Network

Actively seek out individuals who inspire and motivate us. Join communities or groups of like-minded people where we can exchange ideas, share experiences, and uplift each other. Surrounding ourselves with those who push us to do better helps keep us on track.

“By surrounding myself with a group of driven people, I found that my motivation and productivity increased significantly.”

3. Distance Yourself From Negative Influences

While it may be difficult, distancing ourselves from those who hinder our growth is crucial. It doesn’t mean cutting ties completely, but being mindful of how much time we spend with people who don’t align with our goals is essential.

“I had to set boundaries with certain people in my life so that I could focus on my own growth.”

Related Programs

This principle is especially important for our Community Programs because we want to surround ourselves with people who are on a similar journey (ideally one step ahead!), so they can help us grow more effectively.