Society has a fundamental impact on the human spirit. Jim Rohn, a highly successful motivational speaker, came up with the following idea: [For a society to function well, people have a direct genetically coded urge to conform. It is not surprising, therefore, that the society in which we find ourselves depends on our degree of success.

If you are trying to lose weight, you will do better next to a husband who is a fitness trainer, active, loves sports, and generally promotes a healthy lifestyle. On the other hand, it would be much harder to encourage her to improve her diet next to a husband who is overweight, hates sports, and refuses to give up his favorite raw meat. Of course, with a strong will, one could try to lose weight next to a second husband, but he would face significant obstacles in the process and probably would not have the same emotional support.

And we can apply the exact same pattern to the workplace and other elements of our lives. What types of people do you meet most often? Write down the five people who have the greatest influence on your behavior. Think about why you spend so much time with those people. Do these people inspire you in any way? List the skills of these people. Are you caught up in unhealthy relationships that are draining your energy and slowly but surely tying you down? If so, write down the patterns of behavior that these people are dragging you down.

Then you have essentially two constructive options. You can reduce your contact with that person and place someone more cooperative in his or her place. For example, let\’s say you see someone twice a week and that person is one of your five closest contacts. If you instead meet with a more stimulating person three times a week, you automatically move that person up in the rankings. The top five would become the top six.

But there is no need for elaborate strategies. The human mind already recognizes what some people give us and what they keep us away from. We can adjust our behavior accordingly and reassess what we really want in life and how much power we give others to determine our lives.