Ever heard of the saying “Show me your friends and I will tell you who you are?” (Sancho Panza, Don Quixote). Or maybe you heard “you become who you hang out with.”

The point is that the people we call our friends have influence over us, so it’s up to us to choose our friends wisely.

Today I’m sharing with you how to choose friends that’ll help you become smarter, more adaptable to change, more creative, and more receptive to the unfamiliar.

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When choosing your friends consider including friends of different age groups.

Let’s look at how this works.

Friends from your Generation
Your contemporaries are going to understand you and what you’re going through. They might have similar fields of experience and are likely to be good people to commiserate with if needed. There’s likely to be healthy competition among your contemporaries and having friendly competition can keep you on your A game. When forming an argument you might think twice about how it relates to them and whether it resonates. In this way, having friends from your generation are likely to push you to be smarter and communicate better.

Friends that are older than you
Having friends from older generations helps you become more adaptable to change. When you ask them about lessons they’ve learned along the way and hardships they’ve gone through, the message is clear: resilience is key in life. As a living and breathing example of resilience, you can gain insights and perspective from what they’ve overcome and even apply similar mindsets and techniques to solve your own issues. Since you’re likely not competitive with your older friends, you might feel more comfortable asking them for advice, especially if they’ve been through something similar to what challenge you might be facing. And there’s less likely to be judgement as well.

Friends that are younger than you
With your younger friends, you will most likely become more receptive to change. You’ll grow more accustomed to that which is “unfamiliar” and in doing so open both your heart and mind to new ways of thinking and doing. As humanity is constantly evolving, each generation brings a unique perspective to that evolution. Moreover, they might also bring creative ways of problem solving and a little help from new and emerging technologies might increase that creativity as well.

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When you incorporate different generations and ages to your social circles you expand your perspectives, increase your creativity and leverage your ability to adapt. Interacting with people who challenge you enables you to stove and thrive as your best self. So I encourage you to make friends with not only your own generation but also seek friendships from those older and younger than you. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much you end up learning about yourself and the world around you.

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Alright Explearners that’s it from me today. If you liked this video be sure to give it a big thumbs up. If you prefer to listen to this lesson, check out our podcast. And head on over to our blog for the full transcript of this lesson.

Do you have friends from one generation or many ? Share that with the Explearning community in the comments down below.

And if you want to help our channel continue to grow, share this lesson and our channel with anyone who wants to improve their communication skills and social skills. I’ll see you in the next one!

Happy Explearning ⚡

About the Author and the Explearning Academy:

Mary Daphne is an expert in communication, executive interpersonal skills, and personal development. She is the founder of the Explearning Academy, a platform dedicated to helping individuals enhance their social fluency, boost their careers, and elevate their social game. Through immersive group coaching programs like the Executive Communication Lab and self-guided journeys, participants gain the social superpowers and career catapults they've been searching for. If you're ready to take your negotiation skills to the next level and connect with like-minded individuals, visit academy.explearning.co and explore the various plans available. Join the Explearning Academy community and unlock your full potential.

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