Lesson 2: Defining Your Environment

As we mentioned in the previous lesson: to think about what makes up your environment can be an overwhelming task. Literally everything and anything around you will ultimately make up your environment: the furniture in the room, the music being played, the temperature, the lighting, the art on the walls, the sounds of conversations, a television, or a coffee maker. Your environment could be anything!

To define what your environment is we have to look at the patterns we see in the environment. We look for the commonalities between all of the possible things that could potentially make up our environment.

So what do all of these things have in common?

People. If people have created the environment, it would make sense that they are the single element that all of the things in your environment have in common. Everything in your current environment was put there by a person. It was created, or designed, or sold, or manufactured by a person. The temperature of the room or the lighting, or even the music was all selected and created by people.

The only place where human beings have not tampered with, created, or effected would be nature, a “natural” environment.

Here’s the video for Lesson 2. Check it out and let me know what you think in the comment section below.

Here is another example:

School is one of the first environments that you are exposed to that cultivates you into the person you are. So what is it about school that shapes us and changes us so much? It isn’t the quality of chalkboards, or the food in the cafeteria. It’s the people that you end up interacting with at school.

Think about this…

… If the first friends you make in school are nerds, what do you become? A nerd.

… If the first friends you make in school are jocks, what do you become? A jock.

… If the first friends you make in school are the popular kids, what do you become? A popular kid.

… If the first friends you make in school are artistically inclined, what do you become? More artistically inclined.

… If the first friends you make in school are musically inclined, what do you become? More musically inclined.

I think you get what I’m trying to say.

This doesn’t just apply to years spent in elementary school but every school year, from high-school to post-secondary.

If you spend 40 hours a week with students, you become a student.

More specifically if you spend 40 hours a week with engineering students, or accounting students, or art students, or even students of music… this is the type of student you will become.

No graduate enters his or her profession/career fully qualified or able to do the job or handle all the responsibilities. An engineering student does not enter an engineering firm as an engineer. He/she will enter the firm as an intern. After spending 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year, for however many years he/she decides to continue with this path, they will finally become an engineer. He/she will start to adopt the work ethic, the mentalities and mindset and the habits required to actually become an engineer.

If you were to spend an equivalent amount of time with any group of people, that is what you will eventually start to become.

If you spend 40 hours a week with dancers, you will become and develop as a dancer. If you spend 40 hours a week with artists you will become an artist. If you spend 40 hours a week with musicians then you will develop as a musician.

You are the average of the 5 people that you spend the most time with. From the positive traits, to the negative traits, to the purpose of each person, even down to the income that they make. You are the average of these people.

Even if you look at the hierarchy of society you can see similar patterns. The rich and famous (celebrities) do no spend time with non-celebrities. The environment that they create is a very exclusive one. Who do these people spend the most time with?

Who does a celebrity basketball player ultimately spend the most time with? Who do they train with? Who are they on the road with? Who do they play against? The answer is the same: other celebrity level basketball players.

If you look at the other side of the spectrum the patterns are also the same. Who do alcoholics spend the most time with? How about the homeless? How about negative people in general?

It is pretty clear that as a human being, what cultivates us, what will dictate what we become and turn into are the other people we choose to surround ourselves with.

You are the product of your environment, and your environment is the people you surround yourself with. This is why people are NOT in control of their environments because you cannot control people.

However, having control over your environment can be achieved in another way. While you cannot you control people, you can be in control of how you approach the relationships you have with the people you surround yourself with. The only way someone is going to want to be apart of your environment is if you can create a positive, meaningful, long lasting relationship.

This is where having an awareness of the relationship building process becomes so valuable. It gives you the ability to cultivate and create the environment that you ultimately want to have by creating those long-term, purposeful relationships.

In the next lesson… we will be digging deeper about the process of developing your environment.

What does your current environment look like? What is one positive and one negative trait amongst your group of friends? Post in the comments section below.

P.S. If you want to accelerate your success in implementing these strategies and reaching your goals, we’d love to help you. Apply today to our Mentorship Coaching program and we’ll gladly offer you a free coaching session to see if we’re a good fit.

Next lessons:

Lesson 3: Coming soon…

Lesson 4: Coming soon…

Lesson 5: Coming soon…

Lesson 6: Coming soon…