I recently created a poll. How much does our environment play into our success? Whether it’s business, fitness or nutrition related. 80% said our environment matters & 20% said people just use it as an excuse to not stay motivated.
A friend of mine gave a couple of great examples:
1. That’s why we’re always encouraging our kids to hang out with good friends, because we know they’re influenced by who they surround themselves with.
2. If we have one clean towel & several dirty towels, and we rub the clean towel against all the dirty ones, the clean towel doesn’t stay clean, it gets dirty.
It’s true. Those we surround ourself with greatly impact our interests, mood, motivation, mindset, everything. If we’re constantly surrounded by positive, driven people, it’s only going to accelerate our success. Just like the saying, you’re the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. There’s a lot of merit to that.
If your environment is not supportive or even toxic, it’s going to hinder your success. Yes, it is still possible to become successful in a non-supportive environment, but it will be much harder to overcome.
We put a lot of value in our relationships & jobs because they provide feelings of security, stability & predictably, even if they’re not healthy.
When we accept that our environment isn’t helpful or supportive of our goals or desire to be healthy, we’re faced with 2 options.
1. Accept & adapt. Reframe your perspective to make the best of it
2. Leave with considerable consequences. Leaving has high stakes. It means no longer going out to the bar with your friends. It means leaving a comfortable relationship. It means quitting your job.
Most people do neither. The don’t accept, adapt or leave. Instead, they constantly feel drained, negative and wishing things were different.
The majority of people don’t want to accept the consequences of change.
We are influenced by our environment, for better or worse AND it is up to us to surround ourselves with those who are good influences if we want to succeed, and we need to be driven to take action on our own. Our success and happiness is a combination of wanting to improve ourselves and surrounding ourselves with people who lift us up.
