Challenging

We’ve had several discussions before on the kinds of people who we should spend time with. I’d like to take a moment to expand on that. A lot of the people will spend our days with have personalities that range from Type A to Type B. Some of our friends will be incredibly organized and ready to work, others will be laid back and prefer to let things happen as they will. I think something we can all agree on is, regardless of their personality type, is that they should challenge us. I don’t mean try your patience, I mean they should make an active stance in your life where they desire your best and push you to expand on your skillbase, your work ethic, your health, anything at all. A true friend will try to challenge you to meet potentials that you can’t always see for yourself. These challenges will come in the form of questions, competition, and sometimes that friend may get a little pushy. That’s what real friends do: they factor in your best interest and know that watching you sit on your couch all day isn’t going to be too good for you in the long run.

It’s not just about you, though, because you should be doing the same for your friends, too. People you are close with often see parts of you that you are blind to, because that’s just the funny thing about people. You can look at your friend, watch them, and come to the conclusion that there’s some terrific, untapped potential they could tap into if you just gave them the right nudge. Real friends will keep each other on task and hold each other accountable. If you’re counting your calories, they should be counting them too and calling you out when you fudge the numbers. No one is in the race alone, when it comes time to start working, having that person working beside you can provide the competition you need to outperform yourself and exceed your expectations.