The Risk Of Friendships & Relationships - How Friends Change Who We Are

Reflect briefly on the varying friendships, relationships, and social groups that you are a part of.

Consider how different they are, person-to-person, group-to-group, and how your own personality often changes depending on whom you are with.

This is because humans are socially echoic.

We conform our behavior to echo the behavior of those around us.

Each social encounter we engage in carries with it its own unique character; a weighted average of all the personalities involved.

We are merely actors, constantly playing different roles to suit the different scenes we enter in life.

Our ability to adapt and reflect these shared scenes and personalities is what allows us to experience successful friendships and relationships.

What we must be careful of, though, is what scenes in life we choose to enter.

We must be selective with whom we surround ourselves with.

We must be aware of how compatible and mutually valuable are friends and partners are to us.

If not, we risk losing sight of our core self and what we stand for.

We risk reducing our intellect and individuality.

The saying that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link is very much applicable to the science of human sociality.

Therefore, we should strive to have a balance of relationships that challenge and support us.

Like childhood bullies suffering from insecurity, people love to bring others down to their level so they don't feel quite so alone.

Don't let these people infect you.

You have the privileged ability to choose who you spend time with in life.

Choose wisely.