Creating the ‘Environment’ for Success

Two excellent articles appeared in my newsfeed today:

• “Motivation is Overvalued. Environment Often Matters More.” by James Clear
• “How Making Micro Changes Can Help You Start a New Chapter of Your Life.” by Srinivas Rao

Both point us to a lesser-known fact — and a possible blind spot — in success literature (and the pursuit of productivity):

Our ‘environments’ have a far deeper impact on our lives and work — than we can imagine. That’s why it would be prudent — to first work on our environment; rather than on our habits, our ‘discipline and willpower’, or our work itself.

Act… Consider these:

• Are you living in a city that works for you? One that creates an environment that supports the goals you have for your life, family and profession or business?
• Are all your workspaces designed to optimise your creativity and management?
• What else forms your ‘environment’ (as defined by the authors), and does it truly work for you?

If your answers to the above are ‘no’, and for various reasons — you cannot move to the right city now or completely overhaul your workspaces yet, can you create instant results — like take an extended work trip to another city, or join a co-working space so you have a blank slate to create the right work environment.

Other links concerning habits and environment:

• http://jamesclear.com/choice-architecture
• https://medium.com/@melvinyuan/better-than-before-a-quick-introduction-or-why-habit-forming-starts-with-humility-7ffe5d6197a7#.t5pmjceaw