Your Environment Matters

 “Man is largely a creature of habit, many of his activities are more or less automatic reflexes from the stimuli of his environment.”—G. Stanley Hall

As Stanley Hall, an American psychologist clearly expressed, our environment has a significant influence on our habits. Some may argue that this is not the case. However, the reality is, more than we realize, we are generally a product of our total environment. For instance, children born and bred in London do not grow up, speaking Arabic. And many Arabs in Saudi Arabia may live their whole life without ever knowing the most basic rules of English grammar. Such is the fateful power of an immediate environment.

My definition of environment covers everything that surrounds us, including the people and places we come in contact with on a regular basis. We are who we are largely because of the things, the places and the people we have associated with up till now. In the same vein, who we shall become in the next two decades will be largely determined by the things, the places and the people we surround ourselves with, going forward. 

Environmental influence may be subtle but in the long run, it is real and quite powerful. Knowing this, it makes sense to align our ambition with an environment that is congenial to it. In other words, to increase the chances that our business will flourish, we need to pick a suitable location for it.

In this article, we want to examine how we can make our environment aid us to accomplish things that matter.

Change Your Environment, Change Your Life

Now that we understand the power of our environment, the next thing is to design it to work for us instead of against us. Just as the author of, “Lean Forward Into Your Life,” Mary Anne Radmacher advises, “Choose the whole of your environment, things and events, based upon the value, meaning and function they hold.”

This is the kind of advice Bob Proctor stumbled upon at one time in his life, and he gave himself the permission to take it to heart. Growing up, the man was badly influenced by his surroundings. He was associated with many drunkards and lowlifes who had no worthy purpose and direction for their lives. 

However, upon learning that he had the exclusive power to choose a better destination for himself, Bob decided to change his environment for good. In order to live better, he had to leave a toxic environment. He moved far away from negative influences by moving close to positive ones. And as a result of that decision he is a now respected man of value, a world-class entrepreneur, an author and a millionaire.

For us, we don’t have to take such a drastic step to benefit from Bob’s inspiring example. In our own lives, we can make changes to eliminate distractions and strengthen focus in our day-to-day living. For example, if you have a goal to read 12 books this year, then keep those books in compelling places in your room and office. Make it the easier thing to do in any moment of relaxation, not watching television, reading magazines or worse, engaging in gossip and idle talks.

It is hard to overstate the effect of our environment on our behaviours.  Many of the mediocrities in this world are not necessarily the result of inadequacy of good fibre of people but because of an environment that makes poor decisions easier to make than wise ones. To rear children where there are many libraries will increase the odds of creating a more literate society in the future and to rear children in a slum will generally produce different results.

No doubt, living right is an inside job, but designing an environment that enables wise choice remains one of the best strategies of the most successful people in the world.