While it’s easy to spot the toxic people you should immediately banish from your life, it can be sometimes more difficult to decide who the people are that you should invite into your life and keep close.
Who are the people you absolutely need to have around? These are the five kinds of people I always keep in my life.
1. The Leader
This is the person that always takes you to the edge of where you feel comfortable. She brings you to the brink of what you think you’re capable of by simply pushing you to do more. She is unafraid to take charge, grab you by the hand, and go. You never feel less than perfectly capable with her.
2. The Storyteller
This is the friend that colors your day with experiences from his life. He inspires you to continue moving and try for more adventure for yourself. Although we all know that complacency is the way to boredom, the storyteller reminds us of how much more there can always be.
3. The Listener
A person that stays with you to hear you out when you need a sounding board for your emotions is incredibly important. This is the friend that makes us feel valued even when we are unsure whether or not our words matter. This isn’t the person that’ll talk over you, or just nod and text through your conversation. It’s the person that really hears you, not just the person that listens.
4. The Happy One
There’s always someone we have in our life who fills us with iridescent, inexplicable joy simply from his or her presence alone. It’s something practically chemical—something we honestly can’t explain. Some people just honestly bring happiness with them, no matter where they are or whom they are with. Find this positive energy and hold on tightly to it.
5. The One That Forces You to Think
Although it’s never a pleasant process to reevaluate our own lives, it can be necessary to check in from time to time. Self-reflection is necessary for any sort of improvement in our lives, no matter how trying it may feel in the moment. Sit down with the person who’ll ask you the right kinds of questions to better who you are—and keep that person close.
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