IS YOUR ENVIRONMENT HELPING OR HINDERING YOUR GOALS?

Starting off the journey with a vision of where you want to be, helps to keep you inspired, but what happens along the way when you face friction? As the saying goes, at that moment do you ‘fight or flight’.

Although the latter may ‘feel’ easier in the moment, there is only so far you can go by continually choosing that path. So my hope is that by the end of this, you will feel inspired and willing to rise to the challenges you face along your journey. 

When you look at the potential for a flower to grow, there are four factors that will contribute to its development. The nutrients in the soil, the temperature of the climate, the amount of light exposure, and the level of water it receives. 

Essentially these four things, all equate to the plant’s environment. Changing any of those factors causes stress in the plant, which has the power to either stunt or improve its growth. 

It would be pretty amazing if the only four factors we had to think about were that of a plant, but the beauty of life comes with a few more contributing factors. Some are more complicated than others, but nonetheless still require us to make adjustments where necessary. 

As you now begin to think about your journey, there may be key factors that have either been stunting your growth or contributing to it. Taking out time to regularly reflect on these gives you the opportunity to get a better picture of your environment and the areas that need change. 

However, failing to analyse your environment, will leave you in constant cycles of frustration, leading you down the flight response path. As I began to have a serious think about the factors in my environment, here are a few that came to mind 

• What you feed your mind daily

• The sources that your feed from

• The nutritional content of the majority of your foods

• The places you spend most of your ‘free’ time at

• The mindset of the friends & people around you

Sharing from my own experience, one of the factors that I knew I had to make a change in was the people around me. Not to question their love for you as a person, but you can’t always expect everyone to be able to initially understand the vision of where you want to be. 

When you begin to start making the changes you know you need, people notice that. Some will support you, but all too often you’ll be met with a few along the way that will be the first to tell you - Don’t you think you’re being a bit extreme?

Naturally, because these may be people that hold some value in your life, what they say does play a big influence in your life. (Hence, why having a vision that you never lose focus of is so important) 

The reality check came for me when I asked myself a question about those same people. When I felt I wasn’t doing enough, would they still be there to tell me - Don’t you think you could be doing more?

The only person that will know your vision best is you, so sometimes you have to be the one to choose the hard but rewarding fight response. Continue to evaluate your environment regularly and surround yourself with things that will take you closer to your vision.