This is probably one of the determining factors of your potentials in terms of reaching your goals and becoming an extremely successful man who walks tall and whom everybody admires. That man should be extremely careful about the type of people he surrounds himself with.
Why is your closest social environment so important?
Power of will is the key factor of success. While it can be trained and strengthened it is a fragile thing. Just as you can build it up, you can lose it in a short period of time.
Because, in its essence, power of will is merely an attempt to synchronize the resonance between your neurons. It is a chemical thing but we do observe it in an abstract way.
One of the factors that plays a significant role in your consistency and persistence – thus creating an effective state of your will – is your closest social environment.
We are talking about family, friends, peers and coworkers.
You have to be surrounded not only by the people who share your enthusiasm and are like-mined but also with those who will entice you and challenge your status quo every time your reach it.
Without this stimulus and without this positive influence, your road to success will be difficult if not impossible.
It is logical when you think about it. If you are exposed to a negative point of view frequently, it will eventually start to influence your own belief system.
Mechanism of belief system and the effect of counter opinion or constant criticism
Belief system is an abstract term. From the neuroscientific point of view, belief system is a set of memory blocks located in your left cerebral hemisphere. It is a sum of what you are and how you perceive yourself. In the same time it is a state of constant duality because it is important how you experience yourself and how others experience you.
When those beliefs are strong you will have no problem to defend your point of view. This is why people a grouping with those who share same or similar belief system (religion, political aspirations, sports, sexuality…). Again, your defense is also a chemical thing. Neurotransmitter norepinephrine acts as a shield and blocks the entrance and nesting of new ideas (stimuli).
It’s the reason why some people strongly defend their beliefs. They are even willing to sacrifice their lives for the cause. The only thing that makes possible to become like this is the direct influence of the social environment or the group of like-minded people.
It’s called brainwashing and it happens to those who were indoctrinated from the earliest age.
Now the difference from the ultimate and fundamental situations where there is no counter opinion and belief system is not challenged in any way, person who is being constantly bombarded with criticism regarding his belief system and who is exposed to constant stream of counter opinions sooner or later will start to experience the chemical effect of those.
This is again connected with the way our brain operates.
The left cerebral hemisphere is where your belief system is stored. The right cerebral hemisphere has only one role in this: to challenge the left constantly. When there are no counter stimuli, the right side cannot affect the left. A perfect example is the extreme religious movement. The only reason for the existence of this kind of communities is the fact that they make sure to separate and isolate their followers from any kind of negative influence – the process of indoctrination.
The problem with contemporary attempts to alter the perception
Most of us are not born with the prerequisites of success due to our exposure to the commonly accepted matrix from our earliest age. Once determined to change the perspective towards money and success, one has to implement the immense amount of will to be able to make the cognitive change. Thus, it is a belief system that hasn’t been rooted strongly enough.
It’s like a young tree, freshly planted and then exposed to an F-5 hurricane. It won’t last long.
You have to ruthlessly remove the noise and any kind of negative influence. Let the naggers and naysayers find some other target. If you fail to isolate yourself from that type of people and fail to surround yourself with the like-minded and inspirational people you will experience the same destiny as that young tree.
