Your friends, associates, spouses ... are they "dead weight" or are they "ballast?"
There's a difference between dead weight or excess baggage and ballast.
We all need ballast, just like a ship does.
But there's no place in our lives for dead weight. Dead weight slows you down. Dead weight keeps you from performing at your peak. Dead weight wears you out. When you face headwinds in life that dead weight will bring you to a dead stop ... maybe even make you go backwards. Maybe it will send you in the wrong direction, down the wrong path.
I love this quote and I think I've used it before, Mark Mero said "your friends are like an elevator, they can bring you down or they can bring you up." So very true!
The ones that bring you down (physically, spiritually, etc) are "dead weight"... jettison them! Be polite ... but don't spend too much time with them. You will develop their habits, mannerisms and vocabulary.
Take some time, step back and take a look at your friends ... do you really want to be like them? Separate your friends/associates into two categories ... the "dead weight" category and the "ballast" category.
The ones that bring you up belong in the "ballast" category ... they're not perfect. But they can help you set the right course, sail straight, they bring you up. They don't always have all the right answers ... but they care and they won't steer you wrong.
To quote a corny phrase, the ones in your "ballast" category will be "the wind beneath your wings." They will lift you up. They will help you focus. They will help you "be all that you can be."
Have a great and blessed day!
