Surround yourself with people that allow your perfect, strong intelligent, joyous nature to emerge.

I’ve gained the blessed understanding how some people are just simply not right for me. After being close with a friend for eight years, we became different people. I've heard people share how in relationships, "We either grow together or we grow apart". And my best friend and I grew apart. It became even difficult to hold a conversation with each other because we saw the world through such a contrasting lens. More sadly, I could feel that there was tension between us because I no longer fulfilled the role of presenting myself as inferior to her when we were in social circles. After several more attempts of spending time with each other, I understood it was time to let our friendship go.

I learned a really important lesson over this period of our friendship. It is that if you have a friend, a relationship, an environment that tests or contradicts your excellence, I strongly believe it is best to create space away from this surrounding. Choose to encircle yourself with the type of people who challenge you, make you better, and demand your finest. Only this way, will your authentic, strong, joyous self-emerge. Only this way will you easily, with fewer struggles, be able to lay down the stepping stones you’ll need in order to reach and hopefully surpass your potential.

Remember, “ Excellence, elegance and grace are the three elements of a human being. If somebody challenges these three in you, avoid that person.” - Yogi Bhajan.