The Influence

Since the passing of my 26th Birthday and the realization that I am in fact 26 (yea young but not a kid anymore) I decided it was time to start to really pay close attention to my surroundings... more important the influences I have in my life. After all, the influences in your life definately help to shape the type of person you will be. Influences can vary from the company your keep (i.e. your friends), your place of origin (family), where you work and where you live; How strong each variable is, depends on how welcoming you are to certain influences over others. By definition the word Influence is a noun and a verb, which makes this an intanglible but very powerful substance. I say its powerful because it's an action formed from an abstract idea, which gives influences life which in turn gives them control. An Influence is the capacity or power of persons or things to be a compelling force over you. I guess the idea of giving life to the words we use to express thoughts and our emotions is true... ( Karma believer over here lol)

Everyday I, just like many of my other 20- somethings, are all faced with decisions that can be molded and shaped by the circumstances our influences leads us into... its tiresome! Yet learning to be able to tell the good influences vs. the bad influences will make this journey through our 20's and really thru life a much smoother one. Now you may say "Well my friends love me and wouldn't lead me into bad stuations or endorse my making of bad choices... I'm my own person!" and to a certain point you being your own person is true.... to a certain point. Your influences are formed from having a common ground that you share... My mother is a project manager in the healthcare technology field, I work in business technology, all my friends work in business-related fields and the area that I live in is surrounded by businesses and other individuals who work in business administration or management... get it? This was all done sub-consciously by the way lol It was my influences that assisted in the choices that I made from who I associate with to even where I live... How powerful, right?

Now whether these influences that have assisted in the decisions I've made are good or bad... is yet to be determined. Yet I'm not completely clear of the bad influences in life and neither are you, so how do we recognize them? The term peer pressure comes to mind because it's a type of bad influence that even at our age, is still very effective. Being pressured to do or agree with an idea when you feel differently or dealing with the misdeeds of another because "that's just how they are", even making choices based off what's good for the whole and not for the being are examples of how bad influences and peer pressure can affect you. Now, not all bad influences are so obvious; some come in the most well-intentioned person you know. It's not necessarily that the idea they are trying to convey is bad, but the methodology behind it may not agree with how you do things. Ever heard of the Well- Meaning Idiot?

The way to combat bad influences is a little something called Willpower. To not be afraid to say no, to know its ok to change your mind, following your instincts or standing firm on your point and beliefs are all ways to combat and succeed. I know sometimes having to be the lone voice in the crowd is hard, but its a task that must be taken on in order to fill satisfied with yourself. Every week or so I learn something new about who I am versus who I used to be and about the people and places I'm around... its how I know that I'm growing and my dear 20-somethings, I hope you are growing too.