Choosing Your Environments Wisely

Imagine a flower that’s trying to grow but it’s in terrible rocky pavement, or another flower surrounded by tall, daunting weeds. These flowers would have a hard time growing versus the flower in fertile ground.

Here’s the main takeaway: it’s not the lack of capability of the flower, it’s the environment. The same way you might be thinking you’re lazy or incapable, but all you need is the right environment.

One of the first lessons in trying to improve myself 4 years ago was learning how environments had a great impact.

At the time I didn’t know this, so I would constantly try to improve myself, but every step I took forward, I would end up taking 10 steps back.

Frustrating, right? It was like fighting an uphill battle.

I couldn’t form into words at that time why this was happening, but I knew something wasn’t right.

Getting out of bad environments (saying no)

Most people will never get out of their bad environments, hence they never get the chance to change. Sometimes changing your environments means taking radical action. Sometimes it means being alone for an extended amount of time.

When I was 21, I made a radical decision: I dropped out of college, moved out of my house, and decided that I was going to learn how to code to become a Software Engineer.

I knew no one or anything related to tech. My family were all in the medical field.

But deep down, I knew this was the time to take a crazy risk. With Google and YouTube (all of Harvard’s CS courses online), I knew I could make it if I just got into the right environment.

Would I recommend this exact path? Absolutely not. It was one of the most challenging periods of my life. But it taught me the power of Tony Robbins’ philosophy: “If you want to take the island, burn the boats.” Sometimes creating a new environment means closing off retreat paths.

This extreme example taught me to be even more intentional about my surroundings going forward.

The power of a great environment

There’s a really popular saying - You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with. This was extremely true for my case. When I hung around 5 losers, I was also the 6th loser. My habits and energy always mirrored the people around me.

Which is why it’s a great advantage if you hang around the right people.

This principle works just as powerfully in positive directions:

• Want to get fit? Spend time with dedicated gym-goers, and fitness will eventually become natural for you
• Want to learn a skill? Immerse yourself among people who practice that skill daily, and you’ll develop expertise almost by osmosis

Your goals & environment go hand in hand.

Environments matter and are often the first step in self-improvement.