4 - Choose Right Company
Grow good friendships!
It is said that a man is judged by the company he keeps. There are good-for-nothing losers out there, drinking and running after women. They only want to have a good time. To the sisters, you know of friends who gossip, have illicit sex, and fill their lives with other vices. If you are not selective about the company you keep, you will end up like them.
“One who walks with wise men grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.”
—Proverbs 13:20 (WEB)
Run away from the devil and anything that does not glorify God!
If you want to unlock your hidden potential, spend your time with people who stretch you. Find someone who thinks faster, runs faster, and aims higher. Those are the people who will lift you up.
We grew up with this saying: “Na condition make Njanga’s back to bend.” (Translation: Hardship has made the shrimp’s back bent.) But that is not true! Conditions only brought out the potential already in Njanga’s back to bend.
For example, if you are a thief, don’t blame it on poverty. Circumstances only brought out the thief that was in you.
Stop blaming others for your problems and begin to look for answers. If you are a failure, it is because you have let yourself become one. Stand up and be responsible for what is happening to you. When you do, you create your own opportunity for positive change. Ask yourself, “What am I doing to improve my tomorrow?”
Seek solutions not sympathy. It is far more gratifying to generate admiration instead of pity.
You are being pulled on one side by your past and the other side by your future. You must either let go of your future and stay with your past, or you can let go of your past and sail with your future into your God-given potential. The choice is yours.
“The righteous should choose his friends carefully,
For the way of the wicked leads them astray.”
—Proverbs 12:26 (NKJV)
“Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’”
—1 Corinthians 15:33 (NIV)
ACTION PLAN #4
Make a list of people with a positive influence. Let them know how you feel about them and gravitate toward them.
Make a second list of friends with a negative influence who can lead you on the wrong path and stay away from them.
This is the most difficult and most important part. Declare your new life to the bad company and strictly keep from associating with them. On the other hand, pursue the company of true friends with a positive influence. Also consider finding a mentor or spiritual leader from whom you can learn and be inspired.