--- title: This Is the Easiest Route to Self-Improvement and a Long, Healthy Life description: Peer pressure, more often than not, is a very good thing canonical: https://time.com/3738915/this-is-the-easiest-route-to-self-improvement-and-a-long-healthy-life/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-12T04:01:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T08:16:02.720Z article:section: Ideas og:title: This Is the Easiest Route to Self-Improvement and a Long, Healthy Life og:description: Peer pressure, more often than not, is a very good thing og:url: https://time.com/3738915/this-is-the-easiest-route-to-self-improvement-and-a-long-healthy-life/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd55696981181312/698782ede53aba0bc14d7fd2/508066837-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=507&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 507 og:image:height: 285 og:image:alt: crowd-dancing-city og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Is the Easiest Route to Self-Improvement and a Long, Healthy Life twitter:description: Peer pressure, more often than not, is a very good thing twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd55696981181312/698782ede53aba0bc14d7fd2/508066837-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=507&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Is the Easiest Route to Self-Improvement and a Long, Healthy Life > Sponsored content. 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Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Mar 12, 2015 4:01 AM UTC  Crowd dancing at urban rooftop party Crowd dancing at urban rooftop party Getty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Mar 12, 2015 4:01 AM UTC It’s your friends. The people around you affect you far more than you believe. [The Longevity Project](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0452297702/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0452297702), which studied over 1000 people from youth to death had this to say: --- > “” --- In [The Start-up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307888908/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0307888908), Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha talk about **how the best way to improve particular qualities in yourself is to spend more time with people who are already like that.** In Charles Duhigg’s excellent book [The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400069289/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1400069289): --- > “” --- In fact, for most, friend selection may be the only method of sustainable change. I’ve posted about how [manipulating context is the most powerful method of change](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/whats-the-most-effective-way-to-change-you-be) and who we spend time with — who influences us on a daily basis — may be the most powerful form of manipulating context. Checklists require effort and people often fail at anything that requires sustained effort. [The Longevity Project](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0452297702/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0452297702) explains: --- > “” --- Peer pressure, more often than not, [is a very good thing](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/paradoxically-study-shows-peer-pressure-is-a). Just pick the right peers and make sure the pressure is working for you, not against you. **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/06/are-your-friends-the-easiest-route-to-self-im/)**_._** **Join over 161,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD)**.** Related posts: [What 10 things should you do every day to improve your life?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-10-things-should-you-do-every-day-to-imp) [10 steps to getting better at absolutely everything](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/10-steps-to-getting-better-at-absolutely-ever) [Is the “20 second rule” the key to being your best?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-the-20-second-rule-the-key-to-being-your-b) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3738915/this-is-the-easiest-route-to-self-improvement-and-a-long-healthy-life/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3738915/this-is-the-easiest-route-to-self-improvement-and-a-long-healthy-life/"},"headline":"This Is the Easiest Route to Self-Improvement and a Long, Healthy Life","datePublished":"2015-03-12T04:01:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:16:02.720Z","description":"Peer pressure, more often than not, is a very good thing","url":"https://time.com/3738915/this-is-the-easiest-route-to-self-improvement-and-a-long-healthy-life/","keywords":["Psychology"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd55696981181312/698782ede53aba0bc14d7fd2/508066837-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd55696981181312/698782ede53aba0bc14d7fd2/508066837-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"crowd-dancing-city","caption":"crowd-dancing-city","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3738915/this-is-the-easiest-route-to-self-improvement-and-a-long-healthy-life/","name":"This Is the Easiest Route to Self-Improvement and a Long, Healthy Life"}}]}] ```