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It’s interesting how we go through life picking people up. Likes for Facebook. A friend request pops up, and without much thought, we click ‘OK’. But do all of these people improve our interactions on Facebook, making it a more enjoyable place to hang out? The same question applies to all the people we collect in our everyday offline world. Does everyone we interact with increase our energy, or do some of them deplete it?

I have Facebook friend rules. My Facebook friends must meet all of the following criteria:

  • I would invite them to dinner
  • They would get along with our extended group of friends at our parties.
  • play nice commenting
  • They do not post anything on their walls that is contrary to my values.
  • I trust you with the information I post on my wall.

This means that I can go on Facebook to interact knowing that I am going to have fun. It will be a positive experience. If someone breaks my Facebook rules, I remove them from my friends list. Imagine what it would be like if we set the same rules and consequences for the people we interact with in our daily lives. We would just have to modify my Facebook rules a bit:

  • You enjoy their company one on one.
  • They share similar interests as the other people in your life.
  • treat people well
  • Their values ​​align with yours
  • You trust them with the information you share

Based on this, your interaction with the people in your life would be a very positive experience.

We all have energy drains in our lives. They are the people who leave you feeling emotionally drained. It is easier to identify who they are in an environment like Facebook, because everything is written. You read his words and you have a reaction.

It takes a bit more work to identify them in real life. His behavior can be more subtle, like the tone he uses, his body language, or passive aggressiveness that’s really hard to pin down.

Here are three steps to identify the Energy Drains in your life:

  1. write a list of all the people you interact with on a regular basis
  2. without thinking too much about it, put a plus sign next to those that increase your energy and a minus sign next to those that drain your energy
  3. for people with a negative sign against them, find out why you associate with them

Step 3 is very important. The fact is that they are in your life for a reason. Usually, it’s because you’re afraid of something if you cut it out of your life. For example, if you no longer associate with someone who constantly asks you for money, you may be afraid of being perceived as ungenerous. If you break up in a toxic relationship, you may be afraid of being alone for the rest of your life.

Once you have written these fears down, you can work to realize that they are unfounded. This frees you up to remove Energy Drainers from your life. It doesn’t even have to be confrontational. Just start spending more time with Energy Enhancers and less time with Energy Drainers. Energy Drains will eventually come naturally because you won’t be meeting their needs.

Whether on Facebook or in real life, when we start making conscious decisions about who we want in our lives and why we want them there, we create a positive environment for ourselves. Our energy increases as a result.

Ultimately, we can reduce our friends’ criteria to a simple rule:

Power Boosters We Accept; Energy drainers we don’t.

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