The Five in Your Feed

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

— Jim Rohn

I first heard those words in my high school auditorium, during some college prep seminar, and I remember mouthing “whoa”.

This idea was powerful for me because it made me realize that I, my self, was more malleable and shapeable than I had imagined.

It’s easy to assume that our identities are permanent. We are who we are because... well, that’s just the way we are.

But here was a new formula.

I could change who I am, just by changing who I’m surrounded by.

The beauty of this simple revelation is that we can be tactical with it, especially in the age of social media.

About a year ago, I decided that I wanted to be able to do a handstand — while learning about functional fitness, calisthenics, and mindful movement.

So I scoured Instagram for the most popular accounts in the category and followed them.

Instantly, my feed started changing... and slowly so did I.

Instead of my typical fare of memes, travel pics, and a charcuterie of life updates from distant friends and influencers, I now started getting introduced to all sorts of fitness content.

As I’d mindlessly log in everyday, I was gradually exposed to fitness tutorials, tips & tricks, workout challenges, and on a more macro level - the repetitive “branding” of fitness as fun, healthy, and life-changing.

In the world of advertising you could call this “changing brand perception” or “shaping consumer behavior”.

As James Clear says, "Identity is the north star of habit change." By fiddling with the ideas, role models, and community you’re presented with on your feed, you can use the algorithm to help shift your identity in conscious, intentional ways.

I had consciously activated the machinery to subconsciously bring about change.

A year later, I find myself working out for fun instead of as a chore, and I’m easily in the best shape of my life. Yes, I can even do a handstand now!

I think of these broad buckets of content in my social media feed as the “five people in my feed” and what I did here was introduced a new friend into the mix. One who loves fitness, is encouraging, and can’t stop talking about it!

Sure enough, this new person averaged into me.

Consider this: If you had to personify your feed, who would be the five “people” living in it?

What purpose are the five in your feed serving you?

What is the type of person you’d like to become?

Is that person to be found in your feed?