“If we do not create and control our environment, our environment creates and controls us.”
—Dr. Marshall Goldsmith
As the gardening season winds down, my wife is trying to encourage tomato plants to ripen. We live in a wooded part of Colorado, where we compete with bears and deer for our garden’s bounty. So my wife put the plant in pots to move out to get maximum sun during the day and protect from wildlife at night.
To get plants to grow, you need to give them the optimum environment. In the case of tomatoes, that is lots of sun and adequate water. So as we try to ensure we get all the juicy red goodness from our plants, we move them several times a day to take advantage of the light that tomatoes love.
The lesson is simple. If you want plants to grow, you give them the optimum environment to grow and then let them do their thing. If the plants are not growing, then something in the environment is wrong. Perhaps the pot is too small, or they are not getting enough sun or water.
Get the environment right, and the plants will thrive.
This lesson seems so easy for plants, so why do we have a hard time applying it to people? No, I’m not saying people are vegetables, but like vegetables, people need an optimum environment to thrive. And like plants, if people are not thriving, then the person may not be the problem; the environment may be to blame.
You can create your own environment.
People do have one main advantage over plants; people can create their environment. The tomato plants require us to carry them out and put them in the sun, but people can move themselves. We can change our environment to one more conducive to our growth. So why don’t people do that?
People don’t create a better environment for themselves because they do not know what they want. A lack of clear vision for a better future means that any environment today looks like an ok environment.
The End of History Illusion
The problem here is something called the End of History Illusion. We can all look back on our lives and see how we have changed over time, from a child to an adult, to a spouse, parent, etc. Up to today, your life has been marked by changes. But when most people look forward, they see themselves being the person they are today. That is the End of History Illusion, the idea that you will remain static from here on despite a lifetime of growth and change.
To determine what environmental changes will make us thrive, We need to break free of the End of History Illusion. We need to recognize that we will continue to grow and change into the future just like we did in the past. When we accept that truth, we can begin to think about what we want our future self to be like to take control of our future.
What does a thriving version of yourself look like?
To get started, we need to decide what a thriving version of ourselves looks like. This is not wishing for a better future; it is having a goal to work towards. That objective needs to be clear and concrete. You can’t just say, “I want to make more money.” How much more money? How will you earn it? Will you work for a promotion at your current job or start a sideline business? by what date will you generate the extra income?
To be compelling, your vision of a better you must be specific and time-limited. You need to know what you are aiming for and when you expect to get there. So the goal to earn more money becomes, “I will earn one million dollars in income from writing and speaking by my fifty-fifth birthday.” That goal is specific because it tells me what my goal is, how I plan to achieve it, and when. It also has the added benefit of being shared with others, so now I have the social pressure of having made a public commitment (gulp!).
Create an environment that mold you.
Once you know your goal, it is time to change your environment to mold yourself into the kind of person who does the things you want to do. People often think that once they achieve their objective, they will be the kind of person who does that. But that is not how it works. You change into the type of person who achieves your vision first, and then the new you does the things a person like that does and reaches the end.
Take athletes, for example. If a young player wants to go pro, they don’t wait until they are drafted to start doing everything a pro-athlete does. Instead, they have to do what a pro-athlete does to get called up. They need to train, eat, practice, fail, try again, and get better just like the professional. The aspiring athlete has to start acting like a pro years before they can go pro. The majority that fall by the wayside will do so because they did not adopt the professional’s lifestyle and mindset early on.
The next step is to redesign your environment to be conducive to becoming that person. In the example of our future pro-athlete, that could mean eliminating junk food from their kitchen and replacing it with the foods a professional eats.
Think about what the person you want to become does. What do they eat?
Where do they live?
Who are their friends?
What do they wear?
What places do they go?
What places do they avoid?
What do they do with their time?
If you can answer those questions, then you have taken the first step towards creating your future. Now all you need to do is act on that image, but that can be hard.
Fake it and you will make it.
Making changes is hard for many reasons. The trick to change is not to try and do too much at once. Don’t attempt to radically remake your life overnight (I think we have all had enough of that thanks to the pandemic). Yes, this kind of shock approach has worked for some, but it may not be the best path for you. Instead, I recommend making small changes at first. Changes so ridiculously small that you can’t fail to follow thru on them.
Start with something so simple it seems silly. Decluttering is a simple move that can make a big difference. Odds are you have many things just sitting around that remind you of who you have been. That clutter can subtly hold you back. So start to change your environment by doing something so ridiculously simple you can’t avoid doing it. Find a cluttered part of your home, office, or wherever you are and spend one minute straightening it up. Set a timer if you like. I’ll wait . . .
Did you do it? If you did, my guess is you spent more than one minute working on it. That is usually what happens. When you start with a modest goal, it gets you moving, and then you exceed it. Now try expanding that out to other things you want to do.
Some other comfortable places to start remodeling your environment include the kitchen. Try a “declutter” there and get rid of the foods that don’t match the way the person you want to be eats. Next time you are at the grocery store, ask yourself, “What would the person I want to be buy?” Then buy those things and restock your pantry with the food of the person you aspire to be.
Other ways you can begin to act like the person you want to be include wearing the right clothes. I don’t know if clothes make the man, but it does make you feel different wearing a different set of clothes. You feel more energized when you dress in sports clothes and more respectable wearing a suit.
Next, put on those clothes and then go to the places the person you aspire to be goes. Mix with the people whose example can elevate you. Find people who have already achieved what you want to achieve and observe how they conduct themselves and think.
An uncomfortable truth you will have to confront is that other people can form clutter in your life. You will encounter friends and family who don’t share your ambition and want to hold you back. Limiting thier negative influence can be difficult but necessary. You will need to eliminate some toxic people from your life. Others, like family, it may not be possible to cut out of your life. However, you can limit your exposure to them. You can also set limits like not talking about hot button topics or only spending time with them in the presence of others who soften the situation.
Conclusion
Like plants, we all need to grow, and to do that, we need an environment that supports not who we are but who we want to be. Figure out who that is and then adapt your environment to fit that person. What you will find is that when your environment changes, you change to suit that environment. It can be hard at first, but if you start with ridiculously easy steps and continue with them over time, you can transform your environment and life for the better.
Did you find this helpful? You can find more on the the Chuck B Philosophy Blog. While there, download the eBook, Your Energy is Your Greatest Asset, where you can learn how time management is misguided. The true secret to high-performance is managing your energy, not your time. Learn why this is and how you can take advantage of it in the Free eBook.
