You become what you think about.

The same way that a cut of meat takes on the flavour of what it’s marinated in, your mind absorbs the “flavours” – attitudes, opinions, and viewpoints you focus on. These will become your view and likely become your behaviours and actions.

There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with marinating something to improve its flavour or appeal, it’s important to be mindful and careful of what we soak in.

Let me provide some context.

Who do bad bosses and bad leaders learn from? Other bad bosses and bad leaders. Who do bad parents learn from? Other bad parents. The list can be applied to coaches, teachers, teammates, and even the so-called “influencers” we follow on social media.

We are all influenced at some level by who and what we focus on. Alas, here’s the rub – if you aspire to be a better leader, manager, employee, spouse, or friend, carefully contemplate and select your role models.

I’m quoting author, Max Lucado who writes, “Imagine two cooking bowls. One contains fresh clean water. The second contains battery acid. Take an apple and cut it in half. Place one half of the apple in the bowl of clean water. Place the other half in the bowl of battery acid. Leave each in its respective bowl for five minutes, and then pull out the two halves. Which one would you want to eat, your mind is the apple.”

You become what you focus on and think about.  Good input = good output.

Here is a 5-minute YouTube video that reinforces the main idea of this blog but with a slightly different approach: You Are The Average Of The Five People You Spend The Most Time With.