When Environment Destroys Willpower (Always)
I know that our environment has a big impact on our day-to-day lives, more than anything else. As our habits take up a majority of our day, it should become very important that the person that we want to be is defined by our repetitive actions that either get us improving by 1% every day or worsening by 1% every day. Those small percentages compounded over time will take on large consequences, and it is our choice to either neglect the opportunity to become better, or embrace it. That's a fun starter, let's get into some definitions and more thoughts shall we?
What is Environment? What is Willpower?
From my experience, environment in this context of actions is merely that: a set of possible actions. Let’s say for example we lived on the beachfront. Our set of possible actions when we wake up in the morning include taking a walk on the beach, which isn’t a possible action/environmental factor in any other location not on the beach. My definition of willpower is the choice to make that action. So, the walk on beach is an environmental factor that is always “possible”, and willpower is our conscious choice to undergo said action.
How is Willpower not More Important?
Well if my willpower is my choice to make an action, then how is it less important than environment? I have to make the conscious choice, no?
What if I told you that you didn’t? Would you believe me? I wouldn’t believe me at first glance, but let me explain. The role of the environment is to reduce the need for willpower. Let’s say we want to better ourselves and go to the gym and be healthier. However, what if our friends always invite us to get some fast food? What if the gym is very far away? What if we don’t watch any videos about exercising? What if we don’t make new friends that are encouraging us to exercise? I think we get the point. But actually we don’t, and I didn’t at first. After I read Atomic Habits by James Clear, I realized this is merely a simple example.
Changing the Mindset
The previous exercise example is one that everyone can understand. If we don’t have a good support system, then we will falter to the level of our systems, which in the previous example would be what we were before. If you wanted to change yourself, remember that I said habits take up a majority of your day, and therefore you.
So, to make changes to your life, you need to change your habits.
I 100% money-back guarantee you that if you wanted to start reading more, and you placed bookshelves in your room, you would read more. These changes in environment are the changes that you and I both need to stay sharp and focused in this distracted world. Want to spend less time on YouTube? Set a time limiter. Works for me. Want to start reading more? Find other friends who read and talk about books. Most of our actions are routine. If we don’t strike at the core of our routine and let’s say bad habits, they will follow us for as long as we know.
Conclusion
There are a lot of examples I could give to when I have shifted my environment to try and become the person I want to be. Might be could for another post. I simply want to say the following to sum everything up: making changes in our environment loosens the need to act on willpower, but doesn’t remove it. We can set up all the screen time limiting that we want for YouTube, but at the end of the day we can watch hours on another person’s phone. But that is silly and hard to do, and we will hopefully focus our attention elsewhere.
I want to end with a little story I like to tell people (hopefully it ties together nicely): it’s about college and it goes a little like this,
Let’s say you go to college and you meet some people who really like to go out. Assuming you don’t and haven’t gone out before, you might feel hesitant to go out to the frats and other activities your friends might partake in. However, if all they talk about is their parties and fun times and when they are going out next, eventually willpower will be very hard to fortify and hold, and it is natural for someone to “crack” if they originally didn’t want to party in the first place. Suppose however, that instead you go to college and you meet some friends who are really into books and reading. Let’s say you aren’t, and all they talk about are their cool stories they have read and all the interesting plots all while we sit there twiddling our thumbs in anticipation of a topic we’ll understand. Eventually willpower is hard to hold, and one day we’ll think to ourselves, “Well I gotta go and pick me up a book!”
