Dangers of Hanging Out With The Wrong Crowd
I believe around age 21, a lot of people’s lives begin.
They are almost wrapping up college, and we will see what they are about in the upcoming ages.
It’s sad when someone dies around that age.
Let’s say through a car accident.
Another sad thing is when they begin hanging out with the wrong people and do something stupid.
Recently, there’s a story of an Orlando couple who were caught planning a murder.
The girl is 21 and the guy is 24.
The guy was the one who pulled the trigger.
However, the girl was the one who led the victim to the target location.
Both are being charged with murder.
Just think about that.
Even though the girl didn’t pull the trigger, she’s still being charged with murder.
I believe this story has a lot of symbolic value.
How to Know if You’re Hanging With the Wrong People
Want to know why teenagers often hang with the wrong people?
- It’s because they don’t know how to tell the difference between wrong people and right people.
To be able to distinguish between the 2 groups, you need some semblance of a purpose.
Around the teenage phase, a person is still discovering themself.
If you’re a teenager reading this post, I want you to ask yourself something:
‘Do you feel bigger or smaller after hanging out with your crew?’
This question will take you out of your analytical mind and will allow you to engage your body.
You’ll begin to see how your body has a lot of answers that you can tap into.
As an adult, it becomes easier to tell we are hanging with the wrong crew.
We’ll frequently ask ourselves, ‘What am I doing?’
At this point, we know what we want in our life (hopefully), or have been working on a purpose.
When our alignment is off, there is a bunch of guilt.
‘If adults know they are hanging with the wrong crew, then why do they continue to do it?’
Familiarity.
What Hanging With the Wrong People Will Do to You
Here’s how it works in the real world:
- An idiot gets an idea.
- The idiot is enthralled with the idea.
- The idiot bounces the idea off others.
- Soon, others begin buying in.
This is how bad kids hang out.
They always need some sort of challenge.
Whether it’s trying a new drug, stealing from a convenience store, or murder.
The person getting talked into the idea may not be a bad person.
They just lack the spine or clarity to say:
‘This sounds dumb.’
So, they will go along with it.
The girl from the Orlando couple who went along with her boyfriend’s plan to murder the victim is going to have her life ruined now.
She showed poor judgment by buying into the plan.
In the information age, there is no running away.
There is surveillance for everything.
Text messages show your intentions.
People panic under pressure.
You will be caught.
How to Stop Hanging Out with Bad People
The solution seems simple.
Stop hanging out with them.
However, there is a problem.
- Bad people don’t go without a fight.
They don’t like to be cut off out of the blue moon.
So, they will continue to bug you until you agree to hang out again.
I recommend being firm in your decision.
For you to be firm, you need to ask yourself why are you cutting them out?
I was hanging out with a lot of bad people in my junior year of college.
I would skip, smoke, and be a bad kid with them.
There was one day I got suspended for a week and all the other kids began talking about it.
I was embarrassed for becoming infamous like that.
By the time I came back from my suspension, I decided I wasn’t going to hang with that crew anymore.
The strange thing was that I didn’t have a backup crew.
I just realized I rather be by myself than hang out with these bad people.
Eventually, I found a new crew.
The main takeaway from that moment was that even if you don’t have a backup crew, it’s all good.
Better to be alone than be surrounded by bad apples.
How to Get Others to Stop Hanging out with Bad People
The most heartbreaking thing is that you can’t.
If you keep telling a rebel to stop hanging out with someone, then you will just make them more creative in lying to you.
‘Mom, I am going to hang out with Macy!’
You love Macy.
While in reality, she’s hanging out with Raul.
You hate Raul.
It’s difficult to get someone to stop hanging out with bad people.
They need to make that realization for themselves.
There is a trick that will help them make that realization.
- Remind them of their potential.
‘You’re too great at dancing to be wasting your talent on drugs. You know this.’
Give them something to think about.
The more you make them the focal point, versus just lecturing them, the more prone they will be to listen.
I recall a long time ago; I went to a birthday night out for a friend.
Things went left really quick.
Long story short, everyone got drunk, me included.
And there was a fight.
I got into a fight with one of the guys.
We got in a fight right by a bunch of police officers!!
It was a miracle that I didn’t go to jail that day.
The next day, the birthday boy messaged me and said:
‘I expected that from Allan, but not from you Armani. You really don’t want to throw away your potential.’
That stuck with me.
After that, I stopped going to clubs like that.
It was such a short moment in our phone call.
However, it stuck with me because it helped me REALIZE that I may be throwing away my life.
For more tips on social skills, be sure to check out my book, the Charisma King
– ArmaniTalks 
