Choosing Friends that Uplift You (Epictetus)

Why You Should be Cautious of Who You Spend Time With

“The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls for your best.”

Epictetus

Time is precious. We only have so much; in a day, a year, and a lifetime. Whom we choose to share our lives with can have a significant impact on who we turn out to be.

This may seem somewhat un-Stoic. It is within our control to become who we wish, after all. However, even though that is true, what is also demonstrably true is that people tend to become more like those that they surround themself with.

If you work around professional people, you are likely to become more professional. And if you hang out on Saturday night with heroin addicts, well, the chances may not be in your favour.

Good Friends Inspire Us

Good friends inspire us to be better and do better. They “call forth [our] best”, as Epictetus puts it. Even one conversation with a successful person, for example, may motivate you to work harder. Imagine, then, what it would be like to spend more time with such a person on a consistent basis. That is a recipe for success.