Assess Your Circle: Are Your Friends Assets or Liabilities?

Dear Fellow Dreamer,

At some point in your journey, you will have to stop and take a hard look around you. Not at your possessions, not at your business, not even at your income—but at your friends.

The truth is, the people you surround yourself with are either building you or breaking you. They are either planting seeds of progress or draining your energy like a leaking bucket. And if you never take time to assess them, you may spend years wondering why your life feels stuck—when the real problem has been sitting right next to you all along.

Friend or Financial Burden?

Let us be honest. Some friendships in Zimbabwe are expensive—not because of the money, but because of the mindset.

A true friend will challenge you to grow, but a draining one will make you spend money, time, and energy on things that add no value to your future.

We all know that friend who calls only when they need something. The one who never contributes when the bill arrives. The one who borrows money and disappears. The one who thinks your success means you owe them a living.

They may not steal from your wallet, but they steal from your progress. They make you afraid to say “no.” They distract you from your goals. They make you live beyond your means—just to keep up appearances.

In the end, these friends become liabilities—people who constantly take, but never add.

How to Assess Your Circle

Take a quiet moment today. Write down the names of the five people you spend the most time with. Then ask yourself one question for each:

* Do I feel motivated after spending time with them, or do I feel drained?
* Do they speak life into my goals, or do they make me doubt myself?
* Do they help me grow financially, mentally, and spiritually, or do they distract me?
* Do they celebrate my wins genuinely, or do they compete secretly?
* If I fall today, will they help me stand—or will they disappear?

Your answers will tell you everything you need to know.

The Law of Association

There is a saying: “Show me your friends, and I will show you your future.”

You can tell where a person is heading by looking at who walks beside them. If your circle talks only about gossip, parties, and alcohol—you will soon reflect that energy.

If your circle discusses business, investments, and growth—you will eventually reflect that too.

We all become like the people we spend time with. If you are surrounded by negativity, laziness, and small thinking, even your brightest ideas will dim.

But if you surround yourself with dreamers, doers, and disciplined people, your life will start to rise.

Energy is contagious. The question is: what kind of energy are you catching every day?

Liability Friends Disguise Themselves Well

The problem is that not all liabilities come with warning labels. Some look like good people. They laugh with you, support you when times are easy, and appear loyal. But the moment you start growing, they begin to show signs—sarcasm, distance, or jealousy disguised as jokes.

Be careful of friends who downplay your achievements. Be careful of friends who make you feel guilty for improving your life.

Be careful of friends who cheer when you fail but stay silent when you succeed.

They are not truly with you—they are with your comfort zone. Once you leave it, they no longer recognize you.

Asset Friends: The Builders of Destiny

Now let us talk about the friends who are assets—the ones who build, challenge, and uplift.

These are the people who correct you when you are wrong. They are honest, even when it hurts. They remind you of your goals when you are about to give up. They pray for you in silence. They celebrate your success like it is their own.

They do not always have money to help you, but they have ideas, encouragement, and loyalty. They introduce you to opportunities. They share information that can change your life. They want to see you win—not because it benefits them, but because they genuinely care.

If you have even two such friends, protect them like gold. They are rare.

Growth Requires Separation

Sometimes, growth will require you to let go of certain people. And that is not arrogance—it is wisdom.

You cannot rise while carrying everyone on your back. Some people are not bad; they are just not meant to go where you are going.

Their conversations no longer align with your mission. Their lifestyle no longer inspires your discipline.

And that is okay. You can love people from a distance without hating them. You can outgrow certain friendships without becoming enemies.

Growth is not betrayal—it is evolution.

You Attract What You Tolerate

If your circle is full of negativity, gossip, and laziness, it means you have allowed it. Your life is a reflection of what you tolerate.

To attract better people, become better yourself. If you want disciplined, visionary friends—be one. If you want people who save and invest—start saving and investing. If you want people who dream big—start dreaming out loud.

Like attracts like. As you grow, your energy will begin to attract others on the same path.

Your Circle Determines Your Future

Look at your current five closest friends. If none of them are improving their lives, learning new skills, building something, or chasing growth—you are not in a circle. You are in a cage.

The right circle will challenge you to think bigger. The wrong circle will convince you that small is enough.

Choose wisely. Because ten years from now, your life will be an average of the people you walk with today.

Final Thoughts

Assess your friends honestly. Separate those who drain you from those who build you. Choose people who want to see you grow, not those who feel threatened when you do. You do not owe loyalty to stagnation.

If your goal is to rise, your environment must rise with you. Keep those who encourage your progress, who inspire your discipline, who remind you to keep building when life feels hard.

One friend who pushes you forward is worth more than ten who pull you down.

With hope for your wise associations,

ZimLedger Admin