the 'sponge effect'

people as a whole have a habit of letting the things closest to them , define them.

now this can be good and bad, depending on who or what you are closest to. you see its all about approval. i have seen so many of my friends fall away from god and there friends because they try to change themselves to meet the approval of there boyfriend/girlfriend and of course because the only person who can change a person, truly, is God. they never quite fit the bill of this fantasy they have set out to obtain. it only ever leaves them broken.

now i have fallen foul to this so many times. in fact its something i struggle with quite a bit. for example, there is a certain person who im very close to and i love dearly. and in most circumstances she is an amazing  influence on me , and she has a wonderful way of breaking through to me and making me see sense , but , she swears , so you guessed it. when im around her i get a potty mouth. and i never mean to, it just happens 

so you see my point , this part of human nature can be very destructive. if you start having the kind of people who , do drugs , make you look down on yourself. or stop you being the very best version of yourself . your self esteem will drop.

however, this works in a good way aswell. so im sure you have herd the biblical expression "iron sharpens iron" this is very true. as i was saying about my person who has bad language im going to continue to use her example. im a very hyper/energetic person i literary bounce from place to place. well my friend is SO laid back shes almost horizontal and that has a good affect on me , calms me down alot. but iv notest, when she is around me. she becomes more hyper. i think it helps we both have this wild sense of humor where we literary see the world as a hysterically funny place most of the time and that helps as we balance each other out   

so how do we stop the 'sponge effect' ? never fear hear is Lauren's 3 point guide to stopping the sponge

1) avoid people you know will be only a bad influence. for me i have to avoid people who are attention seeking. because im a recovering attention seeker 

2) get as close to god as you can , thankfully the sponge effect works with him and he has a very strong personalty. so get into his word and pray and watch yourself change for the better (n.b this is my best tip , and god is the only person that will only ever have a positive affect on you)

 3)  be awhwere of who YOU are and recognize the 'sponge effect' on you. so that you will spot what you are taking from someone and work on not letting anything negative about them become part of you



^ warning continued exposure may lead to laughter and an inability to get organised or take life seriously   

lots of love

lauren

xx