Life is like a spring.

When we push ourselves to reach new heights, how far we go (extension) is proportionate to how much effort (force) we put in to it — Hooke’s Law.

But like an elastic spring, life will return to its original shape once the stress is removed.

That’s where friends come in. They help hold the spring for you, so you can pause for a while and take a deep breath before we get back to taking leaps and pushing ourselves even further.

Then once they’ve helped us go far enough, the changes we’ve made to our lives stick on us. We become a better version of our old self — like a deformed spring that stays long even if you don’t pull on it.