Can your friends help you succeed?
The people you spend the most time with have a huge impact on how successful you are.How do friends help you succeed? Well, your friends, and the people around you, can be your biggest supporters. They can also, if they’re the wrong kind of friends, be your greatest undoing. The main thing to know about how friends help you succeed is that you even though at times, it can seem like you have little control over the people around you, you actually can control this.
Life is like a box of chocolates… (thanks, Forrest Gump), no seriously, it is, you never know what you’re going to get! Each day is different, with new challenges to face, new people to meet, and new obstacles to overcome. But the one thing in your life that you CAN control is you and the people around you. We like to call them: your dream team!
Firstly, let’s just be clear that when we say dream team we’re not talking about the ‘dream’ team that visits you at night (George Clooney, Colin Firth, or that guy you ran into at the dog park). We’re actually talking about the network of people that get you through your everyday. You might like to call them your support crew. Whatever words you prefer to use, these people have a huge impact on your life.
Finding the right kind of friends: your dream team
It could be your mum who you call for advice, because no one knows you better than your mum, right? Maybe you turn to your hubby to figure out the daily household chores. Is it that friend who you like to download to… the one that knows you better than anyone, (sometimes even better than you know yourself) and who doesn’t judge. Or perhaps it’s your four-legged best friend who’s ALWAYS excited to see you, no matter what mood you’re in.
It doesn’t matter who’s in your dream team, what matters is what value they provide.
When you’re trying to figure out who to include, think of yourself as being a sports team;
- Who do you play?
- Who do you sit on the bench?
- Do you have someone to help you kick goals?
- Who’s helping you get off the ground after you’ve been tackled?
- Is there someone giving the motivational speeches?
- Who’s the one that’s always ready to catch the pass you throw them?
When you’re deciding on your dream team, don’t be afraid to let go of the people who are slowing you down… the ones who are dropping the ball.
Do you have a friend who always expects YOU to call them? Does your work colleague always judge what you’re wearing or eating? Do you have a family member who likes to give their “two cents”, on everything?! Well, it’s time to put them… on the bench!
Of course you can’t avoid everybody, but you can control what sort of impact they have on your life. Ignore the misguided comments, try to find new people at work to mingle with and tell your needy friend that for now, you just need some me time.
“My friends helped me succeed” – a sportswoman’s dream team
Someone who knows a thing or two about how friends help you succeed (and putting together dream teams) is Melanie Chung; an Australian dragon boat racer.
Hang on, what’s dragon boat racing? It’s a canoe-sport, packed with up to 22 paddlers, a drummer who keeps everyone’s strokes in time and a steersperson who sits at the back of the boat, making sure it goes straight.
The sport’s origins can be traced back to ancient China with races being part of religious ceremonies, celebrations and competition between villages.
Nowadays the boats aren’t made of wood, they’re lightweight, mostly made of fibreglass, and during competition they are dressed up with decorative Chinese dragon heads and tails.
Melanie has competed in Australia and overseas, captaining the women’s team at her club (‘The Sloth’s’…. yep, you heard right!) to many a medal, and knows that having faith in your dream team brings results. “I’m especially proud to captain the women’s crew to a medal. Proving to themselves that believing in your abilities goes a long way!”.
The secret to her success, aside from all the gruelling training sessions, comes back to her dream team. After realising that her athletic performance had hit a plateau, she said goodbye to the tried and tested and added a new member to her dream team… her strength coach. “It was one of the best decisions I have made on my campaign. I have become the strongest I have ever been”.
Melanie surrounds herself with the best dream team possible to make her athletic dreams come true. She’s got her family and friends, her dragon boat team, her strength and performance coach all of whom are on her side, constantly supporting her and motivating her to achieve her athletic goals.
But what if I fail?
Here’s some advice from Melanie after a not-so-successful international competition: “While we may not have achieved the results I’d hoped we would, I wouldn’t change a thing… …don’t get me wrong, I love winning as much as the next person, but what I value more are the lessons that come from handling all the pressure when it counts. When things don’t go your way do you give up or do you adapt and find something more?”
Sometimes in life not everything goes your way, but, by surrounding yourself with the right people and putting others on the bench (including those negative thoughts) you too can succeed at life, work, sport, relationships, your diet, whatever it is that you want to achieve.
So, now that you know what a dream team is and how friends help you succeed, as well as how to select your dream team, it’s time to pull up your socks and run out onto the field and grab that winners’ trophy!
Who are the people in your life that support you the most? Let us know who makes up your ultimate dream team.
