Your Environment Shapes Your Habits
Our surroundings have a profound impact on our behavior, often in ways we don't consciously recognize. The concept that our environment shapes our habits is a powerful one. By understanding this, we can redesign our surroundings to make good habits easier and bad habits harder. This post will explore how your environment influences your behavior and provide practical tips for designing an environment that sets you up for success.
The Power of Visual Cues
The most obvious way our environment affects our habits is through visual cues. If you have cookies on your kitchen counter, you're more likely to eat them. If your guitar is in its case in the closet, you're less likely to practice. These cues trigger our brains and initiate behaviors.
To leverage this, make the cues for your desired habits obvious and visible.
- Want to read more? Place a book on your pillow.
- Want to drink more water? Keep a water bottle on your desk.
- Want to exercise? Lay out your workout clothes the night before.
Conversely, to break bad habits, reduce exposure to the cues that trigger them.
- Trying to eat healthier? Hide junk food or, better yet, don't buy it.
- Trying to watch less TV? Unplug it after use or put the remote in another room.
Designing for Lower Friction
Every action requires a certain amount of energy. The more friction or resistance there is, the less likely we are to do it. We can design our environment to decrease friction for good habits and increase it for bad ones.
To build good habits:
- Automate where possible: Set up automatic bill payments or subscribe to a healthy meal delivery service.
- Prepare in advance: Meal prep for the week so healthy eating is convenient.
- Reduce the steps: If you want to go for a run in the morning, have your shoes, clothes, and keys ready by the door.
To break bad habits:
- Increase the effort: If you spend too much time on social media, delete the apps from your phone and only use them through a web browser.
- Add a barrier: If you want to reduce impulse purchases, unsubscribe from marketing emails and remove your saved credit card information from online stores.
The Influence of Your Social Environment
Your environment isn't just physical; it's also social. The people you surround yourself with influence your habits. We tend to adopt the behaviors of the groups we belong to.
- Join a community: If you want to get fit, join a running club or a gym where people are motivated.
- Find a role model: Surround yourself with people who have the habits you want to cultivate.
- Communicate your goals: Share your goals with friends and family and ask for their support.
Conclusion: Design Your Way to Better Habits
Your environment is not a passive backdrop; it's an active participant in shaping your habits. By taking control of your surroundings, you can make it easier to build good habits and break bad ones. Start with small changes to your physical, digital, and social environments. By designing an environment that supports your goals, you're not just relying on willpower—you're making success the path of least resistance.