Your Environment Might Be Killing Your Progress

You can be making all the correct moves, all the right actions, and be making all of the positive progress possible, and yet, there is something you may be avoiding that could be tying you down like an anchor on a ship.

You may not be aware of it, in fact, you’re probably not.

It hides in the background, affecting everything yet showing nothing.

I’m talking about your environment.

No, not global warming, but your social, psychological and physical environment that’s putting a cap on your potential.

This, without a shadow of a doubt, can be one of the hardest aspects of your life that you can change, as it goes much further beyond just your habits or beliefs.

However, although it’s the hardest, it’s also the one that offers the most growth, so without further delay, let’s get into it.

Negative Influence 

Negative influence is exactly what it suggests.

Who you surround yourself with is equally as important as what you do.

A much too common story is when someone starts improving themselves, their friends start talking trash.

They make fun of them for doing the good stuff, and they make fun of them for not doing the same bad stuff as them. Essentially, what this comes down to is crabs in a bucket.

If you put crabs in a bucket, eventually one will get close enough to the top that it’ll almost break free. However, the other crabs in the bucket instinctively pull them back down.

If we’re going to die, so are you. 

Crabs do not do it out of spite, but humans do.

People improving their lives remind others of the potential, dreams and progress that they’re themselves choosing to ignore, so instead of pulling themselves up with you, they try to pull you down instead.

Get away from these people as quickly as you can. As harsh and scary as that may be.

Someone doing this to you is no friend of yours.

Comparison

Sometimes, you’re lucky enough to not have such spiteful people in your life, refraining from reacting spitefully to your progress.

But this doesn’t mean they’re not still having a negative impact on your growth.

As humans, we have a natural tendency to compare ourselves to others. It’s how we make sure we fit into the tribe, keeping us nice and snug in the acceptance of others.

The problem is, even if our friends are not pulling us back down, we’re still comparing ourselves to them, which still has a net negative effect.

They act as our scapegoat, they make us feel better about ourselves when we slack off, because even when we’re not our best, we’re still doing more than them.

This, just like if they were to be talking trash, acts as an anchor, capping your potential. And if these are your only options for comparison, it’s probably going to remain that way.

You need to surround yourself with people doing better than you, people who make you feel like you’re not doing enough, even when you’re doing as much as you feel as though you can.

It’s having these people for comparison that’s going to allow you to continue going so much further, to do so much better.

If you can’t find them physically, start listening, watching and reading from people who fit this description. You don’t have to know them personally to compare yourself to them or see how much they’re doing.

Everything else

Although your social environment is the most important when discussing growth and potential, there are still elements of your physical and mental environments that play huge roles, too.

It’s your job, your commute, where you decide to walk the dog, what you decide to watch on TV, your weekend plans, and so on.

Essentially, it’s your life. How much of what you do in life is the same, is routine?

Although it may not seem like much, they’re all comfort zones that you slip into and can remain as much forever if you fail to pay attention.

The damage they’re having on the expansion of your soul fails to be seen until you break free.

It’s only upon changing these aspects that you get to see how many opportunities you were missing out on, or the amount of self-expansion you were letting slip by you.

It’s very easy to remain in the same place and to do the same things when they’re good enough, but good enough is where the great goes to die, and it takes courage to break free from something that can easily be left unchanged because it’s not causing immediate problems.

An okay job, a good enough relationship. Ignore them and you may live a life of limitation and regret, change them and you could live a life of adventure and prosperity.

Life favours the bold.

To conclude: Make all the progress you can internally, but eventually you’ll have to change what and who’s around you to continue that growth.

What do people say, what do people do, what do you do and see every day?

Ask these questions and you might love what happens on the other side.