No Man Is an Island, said John Donne in his famous book. The essence of this phrase is that we always exist in relationship with others around us. And the quality of our relationship with others, influences to a great deal, our life satisfaction. Therefore, investing in a positive circle or aura of people around us is certainly a way for us to satisfy our social needs, our primal need for connection. But should you just expand your circle for sake of it? Well, I have always believed that you must choose wisely the people in your life, as they can have profound effect on your thoughts and actions. Let us explore what types of people you must have in your life that you should really forge bonds with.
Recommended Read: 5 tips for Choosing your Friends wisely & Seeking Meaningful Relationships!
5 Types of People You Must Have In Your Life
Five types of people you must have in your life that you must choose are:
1) The Mentor
Having a mentor in your life can be a great anchor. Why so? A mentor is someone who will help you look past the immediate present, uncover your blind spots for you and unveil the bigger picture in the larger scheme of things. They can be your spiritual or motivational sounding boards when you don’t see an optimistic road ahead. Under tutelage of a competent mentor, you will most likely take right decisions, avoid impulsive actions, be more mindful of the impact of your choices and so forth. It goes without saying that a mentor must be someone with tonnes of life wisdom and experience, an inclination to watch your back and help you uncover the best version of yourself, with patience and persistent coaching.
Also Read: The Power of Mentoring-Tips to choose the right Mentor for yourself!
2) The Childhood Best Friend
We all need a best friend who has known us from our formative years and understands our personality, disposition, motivations like no other. People we grow up with have seen the real, raw side of us and accept us for who we are, without prejudices. Needless to say, these are the most honest relationships you will ever have in your life so hold onto your childhood besties. A childhood bestie can be your parent, sibling, critic, staunch supporter, teacher, everything rolled into one! They can be your 4 AM friends, put up with your worst side, forgive your oddities, and stand up for you even if you committed a crime!
3) A Career Coach
A career coach is someone with the best interest of your career at heart. We often face doldrums and dilemmas in our careers, whether it is about the next job we want, our frustrations at workplace, or our long term aspirations. A career coach, quite like a mentor, helps you see beyond the boundaries you may have created in your mental maps. A career coach is patient and helps you reframe the career situations, lauds your perseverance and opens up different possibilities for you, where you see none. Be mindful, that a career coach must be ideally someone who has seen your professional growth, understands your strengths and areas of improvement, and has been an active catalyst in your career path.
You may also like to read: Want to reclaim happiness at the workplace? Time to embrace ‘Ikigai’!
4) A Man/Woman Friday
In other words, Mr. or Ms. Dependable. A close aid, from your family or friends who can be there when life hits an ebb, in situations that are urgent, unexpected or just unmanageable singularly. Having a Man Friday or a Woman Friday in your life means you can reach out to them unapologetically, and hope for unconditional support in crises or difficult times. Such people are rare gems and usually enjoy a lot of good will in their social network. Moreover, just the knowledge that there’s someone you can always count on can be great social security too.
5) A Guru
A teacher whom you can imbibe knowledge from on your path to mastery of a subject or a skill. It’s no mean feat to find a competent guru who is truly invested in your development. And we mean, beyond transactional student – teacher relationship. A guru will be the one to spot your latent talent, hone it, sharpen it, and present it to the world. They will nurture you like how a seed turns to sprout, then to sapling and finally matures into a plant with daily tender care. Today, if there’s a skill I can be humbly proud of, the credit goes to my teachers who shared their knowledge selflessly with me and gave me wings to fly!
So dear readers, make sure you cultivate a strong army of your supporters, cheerleaders, and fallbacks. They will sustain you through most if not all life situations. You will never feel alone in all battles life throws at you!
Share your own ideas on the other types of people you should have in your life in the comments section below.
