Influence

It's interesting to think about what influences us. I've noticed this come up a few times lately in interesting ways.

For example, I've noticed that my writing style reflects whatever I'm reading at the time. I just finished Middlemarch, a Victorian novel, so I've been writing longer, more complicated sentences and using words like "ruminating" (see entry below). But when I read Hemingway, my sentences get shorter and choppier and more descriptive. It's weird how much I'm subconsciously influenced by what I'm reading.

(By the way, my friend Courtney was influenced by reading my blog--she started using the word "ruminate," not realizing until later where it came from.)

Also, I heard two quotes recently from totally unrelated sources that make the same point:
"You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with."
"Statistically speaking, you are likely to make, at most, only 10% more than the average income of the five people you spend the most time with."

Isn't that interesting?! Yet I do think it is true. The people we hang out with really do influence our thoughts and our world view. If I hang out with a bunch of complainers, I start complaining more. If I hang out with a bunch of depressed people, I start feeling like the world is uninteresting and pretty sad. If I hang out with upbeat, positive people, though, I start to see possibilities and opportunities all around me. If I hang out with negative people, I start to think that nothing would come of those opportunities if I went for them, anyway. If I hang out with spiritual people, I start to see things with spiritual eyes.

Wow, if there was ever an argument to spend more time with God, this is it! I'd much rather be influenced by the Holy Spirit than anyone else. We are "jars of clay," fragile beyond our own understanding or admission. C.S. Lewis even suggested that our mood today could be influenced by what we had for dinner last night (check out The Screwtape Letters & Mere Christianity). If I am that weak, I'd better pay more strict attention to what--and who--I invest my time in.

(By the way, if you are single, this is a really good reason to wait for a mate with impeccable character!)

Now that I've brought this up, I'm interested to know if you now realize something that you were influenced by that didn't seem so obvious at the time. Write a comment, if so. (By the way, you don't have to sign in to write a comment--you can do it "anonymously," but write your name in there so I know who you are.:)