Your Environment – Friday Fundamentals
Every single day we're influenced by so many different things, both internally and externally. Some of these influences we may be aware of, and others influence our subconscious. These influences together make up our environment.People make up much of your environment, but there are also other factors to your environment - your home, thoughts, health, energy, etc.Other people, whether you realize it or not, influence your thoughts. Your thoughts guide your actions, and your actions determine your outcome. If you want to change your life, then change your environment.There are people who give you energy, and then those that require your energy. It's important to surround yourself with positively influential people and a supportive environment.You may have to detach from certain things in your environment. Other things you may not be able to detach from and will have to learn to limit those influences (read: family)."You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with." - Jim RohnYour environment is ever changing, and with some intention, it can be for the better. Let's look at some resources to elevate your environment.Conferences provide an environment of people and information focused on a commonality. This can be a way to find people who have the mindset, values, and success that you may be looking for. From my experiences, conferences are a great way to get around people who are doing what you want to do, think the way you want to, etc.Meetups are like mini conferences. You can find meetup groups on meetup.com for almost anything you can imagine. These are often more social interactions where you can develop relationships in your community and find people who are interested in the same things you are. If there isn't a meetup group in your area for whatever it is you want, then go out and start one! Chances are other people are looking for that same group.Accountability Groups are another great way to connect with people who are all moving in the same direction together. An accountability group can be an informal group of friends or peers who network together periodically and help one another achieve their desired outcomes. By providing accountability to one another, you encourage and each other to accomplish things that you may otherwise not have the personal motivation to do.Your circle of friends has so much impact on your day-to-day thoughts, actions, and outcomes. Although most of us don't realize the effect our friends have on us, they do have quite an impact on our outcomes. Look at who you spend the most time with and evaluate what each person's positive and negative qualities are. Your circle of friends changes over time usually, considering all of your first-grade childhood friends and you have likely grown apart since then.Online content. In a world connected by the internet, we're constantly influenced by things we see online. In fact, there are now what we call "influencers". Don't ask me what an influencer actually does. But nonetheless, it's important to be cognizant of what online content we are consuming. If you find yourself watching silly videos and scouring funny memes, then you might not be promoting as positive of an environment as compared to consuming more productive content, or following inspiring people, or learning new things.These five things will help you elevate your environment and in turn, start to provide more positive influences in your life. Elevating your environment is a constant exercise and something you should be consistently evaluating and working towards. You yourself, just at much as other external influences, are a big influence. Think of yourself as a magnet. You can attract positive influences or you can attract negative influences. Instead of getting together with a group of friends and having a pity party about make believe obstacles...