Are You a Leaf, Branch, or Root? Jay Shetty's Insight

0:00There are three types of people in our lives. People in our life are like parts of a tree. We have the leaves, the branches and the roots. Some people are like leaves on a tree. When the wind blows, they go with it. When the seasons change, they change. They like the temporary friendships, a summer fling or connection. Like leaves, they're beautiful in the beginning, but eventually they fall away. When we think of this, we can remember the people that were leaves in our own lives. We can appreciate the lessons they brought. We can have gratitude for the moments and detach from any pain they caused. They helped us grow at that time. The second type of people in our life are like branches. You have to be careful with these because they can often fall you.

1:02They'll make you think that they're a good friend. They're really strong and they're there for you. But the minute you step out on them, they can break and fall. We've all had people who say to us, you can depend on me. I'm always there for you. I'm just one call away. But when you follow up with those promises, you find that they were hollow. In our own lives, we know moments where we've been branches to others and had branches in our lives. Often we may have promised a lot and not been able to live up to it because of our own shortcomings and the same is true for others. This allows us the opportunity to become more honest with ourselves and more honest with the people around us. We need to surround ourselves with people who contribute to our overall emotional, mental, physical wellbeing. Then the third type of person are those that are like the groups.

2:06People who are like groups of a tree are permanent. Friendships who go through everything, go through hell and back and grow through it and still stand strong as friends worth keeping. A good friend knows all your best stories. A best friend has been through them with you. A tree in its lifetime can have millions of leaves, hundreds of thousands of branches. But a few roots down at the bottom to make sure it gets everything that it needs. When you get some roots, hold on to them. But the rest of it, be okay to let it go. Reflect on this. Who is a leaf of branch or a root in your life? And to who are you a leaf of branch or a root? And remember, you cannot change the people around you. But you can change the people you choose to be around.