Imagine taking your boat out on the lake while the wind is pushing hard against you. You could keep rowing harder, but the journey would quickly become exhausting. Now imagine adjusting the sail so the wind works with you instead of against you.
That is the power of optimizing your surroundings.
When your environment is aligned with your goals, healthy choices can become easier to make. Small, intentional changes like the ones we talk about in the Habits of Health: cleaning out our pantries, using a 9-inch plate, or removing televisions from the bedroom, are all ways we can support healthy habits.
Optimizing your surroundings.
I always say, willpower is often purchased at the grocery store. Supporting our health begins long before we go to the cupboard and reach for a snack; it begins with what we bring into our homes in the first place. A pantry stocked with nourishing foods, rather than unhealthy snacks, can help reinforce healthier choices.
When cookies or bags of chips aren’t readily available at home, the added time and effort needed to leave the house and go to the grocery store creates a meaningful pause. That pause becomes a moment of awareness — an opportunity to recognize whether the decision reinforces our Habits of Disease or Habits of Health.
One intentional choice at a time.
Buying your willpower at the grocery store is just one way we can create healthy surroundings. The hidden forces that surround us and the structures we find ourselves in have a major impact on our tendencies and our ability to change and create new behaviors and habits.
The places you live, work and play can influence our decisions, because we often make choices based on what is presented to us rather than through conscious choices — like reaching for a chocolate bar in the pantry simply because it is readily available. In the same way, the people we surround ourselves with can also have a tremendous influence on our behavior. For example, if your best friend exercises regularly, it can increase your chances of also being physically active.
Small changes in your surroundings, whether in your spaces or your relationships, can make a big difference. Learn more about optimizing your surroundings starting on page 140 of Dr. A’s Habits of Health
Let your surroundings work with you. Let them reinforce your Habits of Health throughout the day.
When our environment is designed with intention, it can become the sail that helps guide us forward rather than the wind we’re constantly fighting.
Design your life around what matters most to you.
What small change will you make today?