The Pull of Our Environment


Last week I shared that I’ve been going 90-to-nothing for a while now, and that my inner wisdom was telling me “it’s time to slow down.” My belief is that slowing down is a vital component to being effective and productive in life. It can feel counterintuitive, but what I find is that when I slow down and make space, the moves I make render greater rewards because they are heart-aligned actions.
 
 
With that in mind, this week I want to introduce the idea of how the pull of our environment affects us.
 
It’s a concept I’ve been working through for a while now, and I’ve been experiencing some beautiful results I’d like to share with you.
 
We are always in a dance with our environment. We are constantly interacting and moving in relationship to the environment we are in. How we show up, the behaviors we take on and the way we engage with people is influenced by the environment in which we find ourselves.
 
 
Our environment has a profound impact on our ability to be effective. If we don’t consider the pull of our environment it will impact us in ways we are unconscious of...and usually not for the better.
 
 
Here are a few examples of what I noticed when I started examining what my environment encourages or discourages:
 
I love ice cream. If I buy a pint of ice cream I might just eat it every night until it’s gone. If it’s in the freezer it’s like I can hear it calling me. This only becomes a problem when eating ice cream several times a week keeps me from having the results I want. At that point I simply have to stop buying ice cream and remove it from my environment.
 
On Fridays my partner may work from home and what I notice is that I always want to take a nap on the afternoons when he is here. I love a good midday nap, so it’s not a problem that my environment is encouraging it. However, I know that if I need to be productive on a Friday afternoon I should remove myself from that environment so I don’t get pulled away from work by the temptation of a nap.
 
 
By keeping my phone by my bed at night, I was more likely to hit snooze on my alarm in the morning which would cut into my day. As much as I love to sleep in, I also want to get my day started early to make space for my morning routine of quiet time, writing and meditation. I started putting my phone outside of my room so that I physically have to get out of bed to turn off my alarm. This simple change to my environment helps me have the mornings I want to have.
 
This is an invitation to explore where your environment is pulling at you. What is it encouraging and what is it discouraging? Once you notice these things you can start making adjustments so that your environment is always encouraging the kind of effectiveness and productivity that matches the results your heart desires.
 
As always, I’d love to hear from you. What did you notice? What changes are you making? What’s working and what’s not working for you?
 
Have a great week!
 

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