(1 minute read)
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once stated, “Tell me who you spend time with, and I will tell you who you are.”
Goethe is widely regarded as the greatest and most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literary, political, and philosophical thought from the late 18th century to the present day.
Who we know, and what we do, directly influences who we will become.
Goethe was strong in his conviction that what we do puts us around select people, and these people we’re around affect what we do. (Quite straightforward really!)
Think about your friends and colleagues: do they inspire, encourage, and support you? Or do they critique you, ridicule you, or drag you down?
We seem to understand that a teenager who spends time with kids who don’t want to go anywhere in life, probably isn’t going to go anywhere in life.
What we seem to understand less, is that an adult who spends time with other adults who tolerate poor behaviour, or unhappy lifestyles, is likely to find themselves making similar choices.
The same can be said for what we read, watch, listen to, or what we think about (i.e., what we consume).
Hidden within Goethe’s wisdom is the salient message that our life comes to resemble its environment.
Choose your environment wisely.