A while back now, we moved from Louisiana to Colorado. During that move, I experienced how much of a critical role our environment plays in personal success.
When we packed up in Louisiana, I was drenched by the time we were done. The humidity was strong! But when we were unpacking the moving truck in beautiful, dry Colorado, I didn’t sweat a drop! My environment completely changed how pleasant the work was.
Another joyful discovery we made was the absence of roaches. I mean, this was a joyful discovery. Back in Louisiana and humid environments, cockroaches are abundant and nasty. I did a little research and to my delight, discovered that roaches are unable to live in Colorado’s environment! I’m saying praise God. What used to be a stressful environment of making sure not to attract cockroaches, became a pleasant, free environment from worry.
These are simple examples that illustrate the powerful impact our environments can have on us. And we may not notice all of the time how powerful that effect is.
If you find yourself struggling—in any area, be it finances or relationships or careers—chances are, you need to alter something in your environment. Personal success can be promoted when we actively alter our environments!
The three most common problem areas faced are finances, family, and relationships. This can greatly hinder your personal success but knowing how to deal with them isn’t always easy. A few things I’ve come to understand along the way are:
- Learn to ask the right questions. Facing challenges in life can be made easier when you ask the right kind of questions. “What am I doing that makes my situation this way?” and “What’s the core issue, really?” “Can I do anything to fix this?”
- Change the environment that is hindering your success. Are you throwing out good money? Letting a family member walk all over you? When you ask the right questions, you can locate what needs to change and then change it! For example, if you’ve been working in your bedroom, but find yourself stressed and unable to sleep at night, it’s time to change offices. Find a new environment that will free you to rest when you need to rest!
- Problem-conscious people have difficulty changing. These are the folks who view their problems as permanent. Shift your focus so that whatever problem you have is not controlling your whole life. And don’t constantly talk about those problems!
- Change your physical and mental environments. Put new words and ideas into your head, don’t focus purely on the negative, and believe in yourself! This is how you can begin to shift your focus and realize the temporal nature of problems!
When I changed the physical environment of my family, I experienced some positive results. Who wouldn’t love a roach-free climate? But I changed my mental environment as well, so instead of stressing over all the problems that naturally arise when relocation occurs, I instead acknowledged all my problems were temporary and was able to focus instead on the exciting new chapter that was taking place in my family’s life.
Is your environment helping or hurting your chances of success?
Join me every Friday for lessons on investing in yourself and others!
