\u201cThe next best thing to being wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are.\u201d \u2013 C.S. Lewis<\/p>\n
One thing I have noticed about highly successful people is this: They aren\u2019t friends with everyone. They may have a lot of acquaintances, but only a select few make it into the inner circle.\u00a0 Very often the inner circle is limited to just family members.\u00a0 Sometimes, it includes a close friend or two.\u00a0 There is wisdom to that approach.\u00a0 Even Jesus wasn\u2019t friends with everybody.\u00a0 He had 12 disciples.\u00a0 And he was closer to some than to others.<\/p>\n
In order to be successful, you must limit who is able to impact your life with their behavior and opinions. If you don\u2019t choose your inner circle carefully, you will be dealing with unnecessary frustration when your time is better spent accomplishing great things and just being happy.<\/p>\n
It is important to limit your inner circle to people who are encouragers. Not everyone is capable of doing that.\u00a0 Most people are very good at being critical.\u00a0 However, the people in this world who are capable of paying a compliment are few and far between.\u00a0 It takes a great deal of maturity to be happy about the successes of others.\u00a0 It takes wisdom to not feel threatened by the talents of others.\u00a0 Not everyone has those gifts.<\/p>\n
So if you have people in your life who encourage you, who are rooting for you, believe me, they are worth their weight in gold. They are the ones who are going to inspire you to keep moving toward your goals, even when you feel frustrated. \u00a0Don\u2019t feel badly if you don\u2019t have people like that in your life.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t necessary.\u00a0 You have the most important encourager of all \u2013 God.\u00a0 He has created you for a special purpose.\u00a0 He wants you to succeed.\u00a0 If you pray for encouragement and guidance, He will supply your needs.\u00a0 And He likely will put an encourager or two on your path.<\/p>\n
It is also important to remember that your inner circle does not have to include certain people just because they are related to you. Your brothers, sisters, parents, uncles and aunts don\u2019t have to be part of your inner circle.\u00a0 Some family members will want you to be happy, and will gladly help you in any way that they can.\u00a0 Others will have an agenda that has no purpose beyond creating havoc. While you should be polite and helpful to all your family members, you don\u2019t necessarily have to include them in your most intimate group.<\/p>\n
Your inner circle should include people who are older than you. Of course, age doesn’t necessarily result in wisdom.\u00a0 But people who have a little bit of life experience often can give good advice.\u00a0 I have had two bosses who both were very wise people.\u00a0 They gave me good advice when it was obvious that I needed it.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t always take the advice, but looking back, I can see that I probably should have.\u00a0 They truly were looking out for my best interests.\u00a0 Wise people who are older than you will have a perspective that you don\u2019t have yet.\u00a0 It is worth having them be part of your circle.<\/p>\n
This week, consider who you have in your inner circle. Are they the right<\/em> people?\u00a0 Are they individuals who are going to help you achieve your purpose on this earth, or are they going to undermine you?\u00a0 You only have a finite amount of time in which to accomplish God\u2019s purpose for your life.\u00a0 It is important that you use that time wisely.\u00a0 So be careful who you allow to be part of your inner circle.\u00a0 And then make sure that you are being a good inner circle member to those who you hold most dear.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cThe next best thing to being wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are.\u201d \u2013 C.S. Lewis One thing I have noticed about highly successful people is this: They aren\u2019t friends with everyone. They may have a lot of acquaintances, but only a select few make it into the inner circle.\u00a0…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":593,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n