Open Loops: You Are Who You Associate With

When I was a young teenager, I went to a church that was very strict in how it wanted its members to behave. There was no dancing, no movies, no NASCAR, no rock music, and no long hair. Another proscription was a “believer” being married to an “unbeliever”. The rationale was that the “unbeliever” would cause the “believer” to backslide and lose their religion.

When I was in training to be a teacher, one rule of thumb I was advised to follow was to not pair a well-behaved student with one who had behavior issues. The poorly behaving student, it was advised, would pull the well-behaving student down rather than the other way around.

When I became a teacher, administrators recommended that I not associate with those teachers who stayed in the teachers’ lounge and complained. Instead, I was advised to associate with the more successful teachers.

By clearly unscientific observation, the ubiquitous advice of associating with those who exhibit the qualities that you would like to possess for the purpose of assimilating those qualities does seem valid. Successful people often associate with successful people. One often hears famous actors mention some of their early roommates — who have also become famous actors. This is not to say that there is a causal relationship between success and personal associations. It may simply be a correlation. But in any case, it is a phenomenon available for use.

Want to be productive? Associate with productive people. Talk with productive people. Work with productive people. Play with productive people. Email them. Call them. By doing so, one will be able to study applied productivity. You will also notice yourself becoming more productive as you assimilate behaviors that facilitate increased productivity. Remember, being friends with a productive person is just as easy as being friends with a non-productive person.

By the way, in my teens, I had hair to my shoulders. Presently, I dance, watch movies, love rock music, and have been well over 100 MPH in my car.

2 Comments

No Nascar! Unbelievable! It's been an exciting year so far in the cup racing. I'm a Chrysler fan myself, so I hope Kasey Kahne makes it to the winners circle soon.

Posted by: John Richardson | April 29, 2005 at 12:21 AM