What I Have Learned From My Friends

What I Learned from my Friends

Fahad Meer, CPA, CA

Director at PwC | TEDx Speaker | CPA Ontario Emerging Leader 2020 | fahadmeer.com

Published Nov 10, 2014

It is undeniable that friends play an integral part in shaping our lives. Without the slightest of hesitation, I attest to the fact that the person I am today is because of the friendships I currently have or have had in the by. But before I carry on, let me make one affair very clear. This web log mail is not going to flirt on the topic of "how amazing friends are." Although I practice agree that friends are pretty amazing, I want to be as real and true as possible. Each of the states has lost skilful friends either past choice or by strength and there is a story to be learned from every friendship won or lost. I want to share with yous the three lessons I accept learned from my friends thus far and how it has impacted me both at the highest and lowest points of my life.

Lesson # ane – At that place is a negative correlation between the quantity and quality of friends.

High-school and university days were some of the best and most memorable days of my life. Just they take also been some of the well-nigh difficult and forgetful. For those that know me well, y'all know that I am someone that likes to go along anybody effectually me happy, even if it may be at the cost of my ain happiness. Actually, permit me correct myself. I used to be someone that kept everyone around me happy, even if it may be at the toll of my own happiness. What I have learned over time is that it is incommunicable to keep everyone around you happy because non everyone may reciprocate the aforementioned behavior. Merely a very few do and those that exercise are hard to find and impossible to let go.

Without any exaggeration, I had ten times more friends back in university than I do at present. But what is interesting to annotation is that I am ten times happier and more content in life at this moment that I have been in the past ten years combined. Equally the years flew by and time became deficient and more valuable, my definition of "friendship" evolved into something more realistic. What I valued out of a friendship became more than important. The quality of friendships became more important. I slowly began to realize that life is not a popularity contest.

What I accept learned about the relationship between the "quantity vs. quality" of friends is that happiness, both in terms of giving and receiving, is sometimes institute in smaller things and quantities. They say, "as we grow up, we realize it is less of import to take lots of friends and more than important to take real ones." I could not agree more.

Lesson # 2 - Friends can make you or most definitely break you

"Tell me who your friends are, and I will tell you who you are." Every bit crazy as information technology may seem, your friends have a direct/indirect touch on your personality, values and attitude. The people I surrounded myself with in the "good sometime" boarding school days were different from me. I did what I did, said what I said, thought the manner I thought, acted the style I acted because that is exactly how my friends were. Many of us wanted dissimilar things in our lives, merely I but realized this in hindsight. I did not know better. Only the responsibility and fault of not knowing ameliorate was undoubtedly all mine.

That is why things in my life changed over the next several years not by choice, but rather by force. I knew that if I continued to surround myself with people that wanted different things out of life, I would not be the person I am today. I had to force change in my life and had to reposition my place among future groups of friends. This was one of the most difficult things to practise just by far the almost rewarding.

I made sure that the people I surrounded myself with shared the same goals, dreamt the same dreams, and valued the aforementioned values. I take learned so much about myself and well-nigh life over the past couple of years considering of both my family and friends. What is interesting virtually the last judgement is that the friends that I now spend my time with have become family to me. Each one of my friends has inspired me in a way that is indescribable. Whether it is giving dorsum to the community, inspiring others through spoken or written words, or only beingness a good human being, my friends accept played a significant office in each of these fields. My friends are my role models and I am blest to accept them in my life (you know exactly who you are).

Lesson # three – Letting go.

Imagine losing your beloved $800 cellphone. At present imagine losing a friend. Unlike losing something tangible, a friendship does not come with a "price tag." One of the most difficult things I have had to do in my life was to permit become of sure friends either by pick or by force. On the aforementioned token, one of the most difficult things I have gone through in life was to be let go by certain friends. In the quest of becoming better people and living happier lives, tough decisions need to be made. I take learned that I will always be directly accountable for my actions only tin also directly business relationship for the actions of others. If you feel like there are individuals in your life that are bringing y'all down and/or are slowing yous from achieving your goals and deterring you from your values and beliefs, do not be afraid to let get. If you are in the company of those that propel y'all towards achieving the latter, practice not allow get.