Fading friendships and rising loneliness

Living in the 21st century may offer its’ comforts but they come with a price.

Loneliness and depression, lifestyle disorders and health issues, and the perpetual pressures to stand out on top while seeking solace with unhealthy addictions.

We seek hacks and quick fixes for almost every problem, not realizing that if there’s one thing that truly comes to rescue it’s- stable, healthy friendships.

Over the years, this too has been jeopardized for one reason or another, and modern-day friendships can be grouped into the following four categories:

Social friends: These are acquaintances you occasionally see at social scenes. You have a blast with them for a few hours and forget about each other’s existence; until the next awkward reconnect.

Old-time friends: These are people with whom you can pick up from where you left off. There’s a natural level of comfort which is great, but they don’t fill the gaps in your life.

Digital friends: They follow you vigorously on social media. ‘Like’ all your pics and updates. But they don’t have much to do with you otherwise and may not even know the other side of you that exists in real life.

Actual friends: The ones you can reach out to anytime minus the formality, where you can vent, have raw and unfiltered conversations because no matter what goes down, they’ll always be there. These guys are the keepers.

Won’t take a genius to figure out which friends are worth having.

Sadly, the nature of our lifestyles has accumulated more social and digital friends, which explains the rising levels of loneliness and disconnection.

It helps to be intentional about the people you surround yourself with and invest time in.

Ultimately, the quality of your life is determined by the quality of your relationships.

How outliers are made

I’ve interviewed over a hundred inspiring people who have made transformative shifts in their lives.

Despite their diverse backgrounds, they all share some key underlying traits that seem to drive their success.

From all my research, readings, and first-hand conversations, here’s what I’ve found to make people achieve greatness and become epic idols for the world:

They have an uncanny belief in themselves: No matter what life hits them with, failure, adversity or rejection; successful people don’t let any of that get to them. They’ve developed a high sense of self-belief that keeps them going, through the toughest situations. They believe in themselves when the world doesn’t.

They defy their circumstances: Most of us become prisoners of our circumstances, reacting to what currently exists. However, this breed of people sees beyond the physical dimension of reality. They act in alignment with what they aspire to have as if they have what they seek.
They’ve hacked the game of energy that the rest of the world views with skepticism.

They spend time in silence: It’s easy to be distracted in this world. Wannabes spend their energies impressing others, gloating about their achievements, or experiencing FOMO by constantly engaging in the comparison game and second-guessing their choices. They’re tempted by shortcuts and making big marks, quickly.
But it’s spending time away from the noise and more time within, that brings crystal clarity. It develops a strong sense of intuition, focus, and faith; and that’s what people at the top have achieved.

Of course, there are a variety of other factors that contribute to success, including luck and timing but these are some traits that I’ve found to be consistent among people who set themselves apart from the crowds.

The best way to make a lasting impression

When it comes to making first impressions, we all want to make the best one.

But pretending to be the smartest one in the room can backfire because eventually, reality catches up.

Besides, nobody likes the scent of arrogance.

An untapped way to make a lasting impact is embracing confident humility.

As the name suggests, it’s about being confident enough to own that you don’t know all the answers and are curious to learn more about a subject.

Chasing the spotlight can prove futile because people naturally gravitate more toward those who show curiosity and a genuine interest in learning more about others.

In case you missed me last week…

Thanks for making it to the end.. Are you subscribed yet? If not…