You Are the Average of the Five People You Spend the Most Time With

The title is taken from Jim Rohn, an American entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker. And this was scientifically proven — Christakis and Fowler found out that if a friend of yours became obese, you have a 45% chance of becoming obese yourself within four to five years. They also found the same results for smoking — if a friend close to you smokes, you have a 61% chance of becoming a smoker yourself. Some years later, they studied happiness, and found that social influence does not just happen in negative habits, but with positive ones. Happy friends make you happier.

If this is the case, then your friends and family — the people you spend the most time with — are really your future. This ought to make you realise that you have to be more deliberate in choosing the people you spend your time with.