Choosing, Identifying, Eliminating

Choosing the people you want in your life is so important, actually -- the word 'important' is an understatement, I would go as far to say it's imperative for your life. Choosing who you want to invest in, who you want to spend your time with, and who is vital to growing who you are is so important.

I was home in OC last week, spent 10 glorious days with friends and family and my schedule was super packed. It's not because I'm popular, it's because I wanted to spend time with the people I love and miss.

Every time I see someone I haven't seen in a while the questions are always the same, "How's Seattle?" "How's your work?" "Do you like the weather?" -- very "reunion-ish" if you will. I don't mind it -- I actually love it. But it's after the reunion talk that I love the most...just talking about life, getting past the small talk and having intimate, deep conversation.

Proverbs 27:17 says, "Iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another."
1 Corinthians 15:33 says, "Do not be misled, bad company corrupts good character."

Choosing who you want to sharpen is important.
Choosing who you want to sharpen your character is important.
Choosing which friends you want to influence and shape who you are, is important.
Identifying the "unnecessary" relationships and allowing them to fizzle is important.
Identifying the negative, bad influence, discouraging and drama people in your life, and intentionally cutting them out may seem harsh -- but obviously important.

Whenever you say "yes" to spend time with someone, you're essentially saying "no" to someone else. The important thing is that you identify the people in your life that aren't challenging you, helping you grow, or have your best interest at heart. We all need people in our lives who encourage us to become the person God intends us to be, who lead us down the right path.

Identify who those bad influences. Eliminate them from your life.
Choose people with strong conviction, good morals, and place a high value on learning, loving, and leading -- bring them into your life and cherish their friendship.

Your identity is dependent on you identifying the right people, the wrong people, and the missing people.