Relationships Are Like Soundwaves

In the physics of soundwave interference there is something known as ‘Constructive and Destructive Interference’. This occurs when two (or more) waves interact with each other. The amplitude of both waves are changed by the other. Specifically, the amplitude (which refers to the height of the wave) can be increased or decreased by the positive or negative height of the other wave at the time they interact.

Relationships are like this. Your positive energy can be increased or decreased by the positive or negative energy of the people you interact with. If you have ever had a friend that is typically negative, you know that it takes a lot of your energy to support your relationship.

For example:

I have a close friend (let’s call her Jane) that has just come to realize that one of her best friends fits this description. They are very close, but Jane has never been able to explain why she feels exhausted after spending time with her friend. During a conversation with Jane about the energy of our relationships, Jane had an epiphany; the things that she is passionate about and can spend hours speaking to, without effort, are not the things her best friend finds interesting.

In fact, her friend will not accept the ideas and will often nay-say the topic. The result is that Jane will only bring topics to their conversations that they can both speak to and share interest in. Unfortunately these topics are not Jane’s passion.  To hold a sustained focus on something that is not your driving passion requires more energy. So for Jane, her friend’s negative response to and lack of acceptance for her highly-positive passion requires Jane to actively engage in conversations that require more of her energy to focus on and thus is not as positive experience for her.

Relationships in Business

We have all heard that we are the combination of the success of the five people we spend the most amount of time with. That is that we can only achieve the level of success that is a result of the highest level of success of our closest support and peers. If we are more successful than all the people we spend most of our time with, we are then seen as a mentor to all and that requires energy and stops us from growing.

Ken Robinson, in his book ‘The Element‘, refers to this as our ‘tribe’. We choose our tribe for how they make us feel and how easy it is for us to communicate within the tribe. The people in the tribe understand us and make it easy for us to be understood. We are usually supported for the way we think and encouraged to reach goals that are seen as achievable.

This is why, when we want to change our level of wealth or health or other, it is important that we reach out to others that have done it or are going through the same thing. So, in business you want to reach out to the others in your support system that can increase your positive energy by easily understanding what you are doing and support your goals. Their positive support should match the energy of your passion so that you can reach the greatest level of success as possible.

If you have a negative friend, don’t dump them, just spend more time with the people that will really help you with your vision and make it easier for you to achieve it.