Are Your Friends Balloons or Anchors?

Why some relationships lift you up while others hold you back

There are two types of people you’ll become friends with. They’re either: balloons or anchors

When you're growing up, friends are just friends. Most of the relationships you’ve developed with others comes from association. You’re friends because you go to the same school, play on the same sports team, or work together. It isn’t until later in life that these relationships branch into these two distinct groups.

Robin Dunbar is best known for Dunbar’s number, the maximum amount of relationships a person can cognitively maintain at one time. At any given time you can keep track of a maximum of 150 people.

At any given time you can keep track of a maximum of 150 people.

At the maximum you’ll develop a selection practice. One new friend in, one old friend out. Once fruitful, the friendships you developed now seem to drift away because of our minds' limited capacity.

A fork happens in the relationships you’ve built driven by the different games you play.

Everyone is busy working on trying to beat the game they’re playing. You begin to idolize different role models, value different things, and beat levels at different times. All while developing new friendships along the way.

The growth of your tribe is the growth of your spirit.