If everyone is looking upwards for mentors, who will help those left behind?

Don’t look down? (Credit: Riccardo Bresciani)

Personal growth and self-improvement can be a lonely place at times. Progress requires significant, persistent and sometimes uncomfortable action to be taken on a regular basis.

Before committing to action you need to figure out what you want to achieve and plan how you’re going to make it happen. This manifests in hours spent scouring books for ideas, searching the web for programmes that may get us where we want to be, or more likely sifting through offerings from supposed-gurus that promise us the results we desire.

Whether our goal is to make money, build a business, achieve greater mental focus and peace, strengthen our relationships or to build the perfect body, there’s a great deal to be said for seeking out help along the journey.

It’s widely acknowledged that having mentors, surrounding yourself with like-minded individuals and accessing the support to get you there, are all key.

Having trained in a gym both alone and with a trainer, I can confirm that a great deal more is accomplished as a result of the support, encouragement, guidance and accountability that a trainer or mentor brings to the party. I have no doubt that the same is true in other endeavours too.

Depending on what you believe and how you interpret it, who you spend your time with more widely also seems to play a pivotal role in determining results.

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with”

-Jim Rohn

It makes me slightly uncomfortable to think that my future results will be determined by the people I surround myself with today, and that my circle of trust may be somehow not good enough if I want to get where I want to be.

I completely understand Jim Rohn’s sentiment above, and undoubtedly a great deal of our outlook in life and the things we do, say and think are influenced by those in our immediate circle. My difficulty is in knowing whether I’m expected to have a purge on those in my peer group whose values and priorities don’t resonate with my goals?

I actually rather like my friends. I love my family, both immediate and extended. I’m quite fond of many of my…