{"id":37831,"date":"2021-06-03T06:27:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-03T10:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=37831"},"modified":"2021-06-16T08:18:50","modified_gmt":"2021-06-16T12:18:50","slug":"change-your-environment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/change-your-environment\/","title":{"rendered":"Change Your Environment\u2014Change Your Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How does your environment influence your personality? What can you do to restructure your environment for success?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your environment\u2014the people you surround yourself with, the clothes you wear, the neighborhood you live in, and the food you eat\u2014shapes you into the person you are. If you want to become more successful, the first thing you need to do is to change your environment on all three planes: physical, social, and internal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is how you can recondition yourself for success by changing your environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Power of Environment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve all heard the old expression, \u201cyou are what you eat.\u201d This means that our well-being is tied directly to the food we use to fuel our bodies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The author proposes that your mind is also a product of what it is fed, and what feeds your mind is your environment<\/em>. The size of your thinking, your attitude, and your goals all are the products of your environment, particularly the people around you. If you are surrounded by petty, negative people, you will likely pick up the habits of negative, petty thinking. If you are surrounded by positive, ambitious people, you will begin to reflect those traits, as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, if you want to change yourself<\/a> and your life for the better, you need to change your environment\u2014not just your immediate physical environment, but also your social as well as the internal environment of your mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recondition Yourself for Success<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The biggest obstacle to success is thinking you\u2019re just not cut out for any major accomplishment. \u201cBig things are just not in the cards for me.\u201d Too many adults are conditioned toward this sense of mediocrity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Children don\u2019t dream of someday getting by in a dead-end job. Kids set high goals and fully expect to do exciting, important things. But as they grow up and gain responsibilities, these free-thinking children often become short-sighted adults. They\u2019ve likely been bombarded with the advice of others to \u201cquit dreaming,\u201d and \u201cbe practical.\u201d They\u2019re told they\u2019ll never get ahead because they don\u2019t have the luck\/money\/connections\/character traits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some people surrender completely to this input. They settle for a job they don\u2019t love and rationalize themselves into a rut from which there\u2019s little chance of escaping. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others surrender partially at first, holding out hope that someday big things will happen. As time goes by, however, this group loses their fight and decides that greater success isn\u2019t worth the effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The third group never surrenders to the \u201cyou\u2019ll never accomplish anything big\u201d line of thinking. What\u2019s different about this group? Big thinkers refuse to listen to suppressive talk and advice and instead think about success and drive toward success. <\/strong>They simply don\u2019t listen to anyone who says their goals can\u2019t be accomplished. They\u2019ve developed a defense against the negative opinions of other people, seeing negativity only as an opportunity to prove the naysayers wrong<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if you\u2019re not in the third group now, you can get there. You are fully capable of reconditioning yourself for success. (Much of this book is about doing this). It takes a shift in attitude and a deep-seated belief in yourself<\/a> and your ability to achieve your goals<\/a>. You have to condition yourself to ignore the poisonous opinions of others, which can be aided by managing your social environment<\/em>, which we\u2019ll discuss next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manage Your Social Environment<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There are several aspects to managing your social environment and creating positive surroundings that will nurture success: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Stay away from \u201cnegators.\u201d <\/li>
  2. Stay away from people who gossip and backstab.<\/li>
  3. Seek advice only from \u201cfirst-class\u201d people.<\/li>
  4. Get some \u201cpsychological sunshine.\u201d <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Stay Away from \u201cNegators\u201d<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cNegators\u201d are the negative people around you who keep telling you it can\u2019t be done. Sometimes these are well-meaning individuals who have been beaten down by life and have good intentions; other times they\u2019re jealous people stuck in a rut who want to trip you and keep you down with them. .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Stay away from all negators.<\/strong> They drag down your thinking, and they introduce seeds of doubt that fuel Mr. Defeat (recall him from Chapter 1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A few examples of getting away from negators:<\/p>\n\n\n\n