What you want in life, can easily be affected by what other people want in life too.

When you see someone pursuing a goal, it can make you want to pursue a similar goal.

Scientific studies show that people who watch someone else chasing a particular goal are more likely to chase the same goal. In fact in some of these cases, just reading about someone chasing a goal, made these people more likely to adopt the same goal.

One study showed that participants who read a story about someone trying to make a certain amount of money were more likely to try to make the same amount of money too.

But people who didn’t read a story that was about making money, didn’t end up setting a money-making goal.

Your goals can be affected by other people’s goals.

If you’re surrounded by weak people and weak goals, you’ll end up pursuing weak goals too.

If you’re not careful, everything you strive for in life will be based on what other people want, and not what YOU want.

HOW TO KEEP SMALL-MINDED PEOPLE FROM AFFECTING YOU…

Firstly, Quit chasing other people’s shiny objects. It’s bad enough that they’re chasing them.

That fancy new middle manager job title, a measly 3% pay raise, a bloated expensive wedding—these things (that most mediocre people chase) will not make you happy for more than a day. How do I know? Because I’ve chased them too. And they led me to absolutely zero fulfillment.

Stop chasing what other people want. Stop falling into other people’s pursuits. Instead…

Focus your mind.

Get deliberate with who you DECIDE to let into your life. People are more picky about what they watch on television, than they are about their social circle. Yet, your social circle has the power to impact your thinking; which can affect your goals in life.

Actively choose your own goals, and then commit and recommit to them over and over again until you achieve them. Here’s how to achieve your life’s goals…

1. BE YOUR OWN ISLAND

The reason you’re not achieving your goals is because you’re busy chasing other people’s goals.

You spend the majority of your day asking yourself what other people will think of you.

What will my girlfriend think? What will my husband think? What will my boss think?

What will my friend, family members, and neighbors think?

Who cares.

Other people’s opinions DO NOT matter.

When it comes to your personal goals, the only person whose opinion matters is yours.

The problem is that you’ve been bombarded with other people’s opinions since birth.

You’ve been listening to what other people think for so long that you’ve forgotten how to think for yourself.

A good strategy for getting back in touch with your innate thoughts and desires, is to imagine you are the only person left on Earth.

Pretend a deadly disease, or zombie apocalypse wiped out everyone in the world but you.

You just woke up, and the whole world is silent. Its confusing, and disconcerting, but eventually you accept the fact that you’re the last person on Earth.

What would you do?

Would you build something? Would you read every book in the library? Would you write a book? Would you travel? Would you hike every mountain? Would you teach yourself to fly a helicopter?

Or…

Would you sit at home all day watching sad movies on Netflix and crying?

You need to ask yourself What kind of person are you?

Try to consider your desires without the pressure of impressing or living up to others.

Dig into your mind and determine what you want — not whats acceptable — but what YOU want.

2. FREE YOURSELF FROM NEGATIVE PEOPLE

There are people in your life who should not be there. These people are keeping you from fulfilling your purpose in life.

Your life is precious, its a gift.

No one is worth sacrificing your dreams for.

It sounds harsh but it’s the truth.

The only way to move forward is by leaving your loser friends and anyone who holds you back, behind you.

You were meant for something more.

You just can’t see it because you’re surrounded by people with weak goals.

The only way to see your true potential again is to gain some emotional distance from these people.

You need to physically remove yourself from your current environment.

Stop going out with the same people every weekend. Stop attending the same little sad events that are demolishing your dreams one minute at a time.

Instead, get away for a few days to a few weeks.

Distance creates clarity.

Your life and everything you’re capable of achieving during it is like a long, beautiful shoreline.

Your current perspective is like a rowboat stuck on one small part of that shoreline. All you can see is the sand in front of you. But, by pushing the boat out into the water and rowing out to sea, you start to see the entire shoreline.

Your perspective expands and you start to see what’s really possible.

3. SPEND TIME WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE CHASING THEIR GOALS

Just like weak-minded people make your goals weaker, strong-minded people make your goals stronger.

Once you get in touch with what you really want to achieve in life, surround yourself with people who want to achieve similar things.

Or better…

Surround yourself with people who have already achieved the things you want to achieve.

You need people to push you.

You need to be held accountable to your goals.

Without this accountability, negative and manipulative people will slip back into your life, and your goals will start to wander.

The only way to prevent this is to figure out what you alone want first.

You. Alone. First.

Then after doing that, surround yourself with winners chasing goals that are as big or bigger than your goals.

Don’t be confused. There are winners and losers in life.

Some people have weak minds and chase weak-minded goals. These people refuse to develop their minds or step outside of their comfort zones.

They actually enjoy being weak-minded.

They want to play the victim or pretend that having small goals or having no goals at all is noble. They like the attention it gets them.

People who spout this nonsense are indeed chasing a goal—attention.

Or, they’re chasing power—the power to hold people back, push others down, and make everyone feel bad about themselves.

Stay away from these types of people.

You were meant for something more. You were meant to achieve big goals for your life.

Remember, other people’s goals affect your life goals.

The only way to prevent weak-minded people from negatively affecting your dreams, is to avoid these people altogether. This means getting rid of toxic, loser friends and walking away from relationships that don’t encourage you to grow.

Stay in touch with your personal goals.

Pretend you’re the last person on Earth and gain some emotional distance from the negative people in your life.

Surround yourself with winners who will hold you accountable for achieving great things in your life.

Make sure to LIVE, MORE THAN YOU EXIST.