Is Your Circle Stunting Your Growth and Self-Awareness?

Resilience & Growth

Surrounding yourself with individuals who do not value you can be psychologically damaging, while seeking external validation can be equally developmentally stagnating. We must keep in mind that our perceived experiences become our reality. We experience life through our senses, which are then processed by what and how the mind interprets it. If what we ingest visually, auditorily, energetically, or through any other part of our senses is not nourishing, one can develop a deficiency in their ability to be aware of how their inherent abilities currently or potentially can show up in the world.

This is because, before there were mirrors or before we understood reflection through objects and things, we first see ourselves through someone else’s eyes. We are not having this spiritual experience in a human form alone. We receive feedback when we engage in introspection or reflection through our interactions with others. Developmentally, this can first be observed with infants, who begin to understand themselves and how they function through their interaction with their mother. And from there it expands. From there, this concept continues to expand as we evolve, grow, and begin to interact with others in our lives, whether communally, professionally, romantically, or familially.

Oftentimes, the feeling of incompleteness or yearning that lingers inside, that we can’t quite put our finger on, even when we feel that we are achieving our goals and being the outstanding individuals we aim to be, can come from attributes, kindness, uniqueness, beauty, gestures, and efforts that often go unnoticed when one is surrounded by those who don’t have the capacity to acknowledge or reflect them back.

In alignment with holistic modalities that explore the science of the energy body and the healing practice of balancing, protecting, and restoring our energetic composition, often described through the chakras, the aura, and the ethereal body, we can understand that those in our immediate environment, those we engage with frequently, can implicit or explicitly

transfer their vibrational frequency and project their lived experience onto you.

Hence the phrase: choose your circle and friends wisely. Surround yourself with like-minded individuals. Dwell in spaces where you feel safe and free to be authentically you, spaces where reciprocity exists, where you naturally exude your gifts and light and it is valued, appreciated, and reflected back to you and others.

In such environments, you can effortlessly sow seeds that will blossom and grow into life-giving fruit, seeds that are received in fertile soil, rather than being placed in conditions that lack the composition needed for something nourishing and sustaining to emerge. This does not mean that you cannot be around those you love or care for. It simply means that you are called to establish clear boundaries, in full awareness of how individuals in your life may unknowingly or knowingly hinder or interfere with your awareness of your greatness and overall progression.

Staying socially connected to friends and family does not have to equate to forcing yourself to dwell in settings or tolerate behaviors that cause you to question your presence there. Nor does it require accepting what does not align with your personal values and standards, or remaining in environments that perpetuate feelings of stagnation, dissatisfaction, or unfulfillment. Maintaining connection should not come at the expense of your well-being, authenticity, growth, or peace. Boundaries allow you to preserve relationships while also honoring the conditions necessary for your continued evolution and fulfillment.

This can look like becoming more attuned to what your physical body may be signaling to you. Somatically, when you are surrounded by certain individuals or find yourself in spaces that may inadvertently repress or suppress aspects of your being, it is important to reflect on what strategies you can use to prevent those environments from affecting you energetically when you have to, or still desire to, remain within them.

This may involve identifying practices that help you stay grounded, learning how to gracefully leave when you have reached your capacity within a space, becoming clear about what your limitations are, and reflecting on why certain interactions with particular individuals evoke specific emotional, mental, physical, or energetic responses.

It is also important to release feelings of guilt or obligation that may compel you to remain loyal to anyone or anything in ways that require you to compromise your destiny-given purpose, destiny, goals, aspirations, or overall well-being. Loyalty should not come at the expense of your growth, peace, self-awareness, or ability to fully embody who you were created to be.