Three tenets of environmental support for change and development
Make the Environment an ally
Let’s take a look at three key environmental factors and what they mean for living our best life:
- Physical environment
- Social environment
- Knowledge environment
Physical environment
First, think about your physical environment. Can you make it easier for yourself to pay attention to the action you want to take? Are there any distractions or obstacles in the way? Can you make the first steps easy and effortless?
Social environment
Next, consider how your social environment can help or hinder your progress. Do you have the support you need from your friends and family? Does being around them help or hinder your progress? Are there other connections or online communities that fuel your efforts?
Knowledge environment
Finally, check in on your knowledge environment. What ideas are inspiring? Are you exploring information that nourishes your thoughts and helps you see connections? What promotes depth and clarity of thought or facilitates great decisions? How does the information you consume make you feel about yourself and what’s possible for you?
By taking a look at these three different areas, you can better shape your environment to support your goals and strengthen your connection with yourself. And that will help you achieve the life you want to live!
The character of the architectural forms and spaces which all people habitually encounter are powerful agencies in determining the nature of their thoughts, their emotions and their actions, however unconscious of this they may be.
Hugh Ferriss, The Metropolis of Tomorrow
Conclusion
In summary, behavioral design is a powerful, easy to use tool that you have use in your day-to-day life. In the first part of this series, we explored 5 aspects of behavioral design: Attention, perception, emotion, behavior, and integration. For example, we touched upon using cues and engaging emotions that energize your efforts.
Here in the 2nd part of the series, we explored how our environment and circumstances can be leveraged to support behavior change. Specifically, we looked at 3 elements of the environment that can promote success: physical, social, and knowledge. By leveraging our environment, we can make it a lot easier to live the life you want to live!
Next time you seek personal development or want to begin a practice that brings you closer to your authentic self, add what you’ve learned about here to your efforts. Think of behavioral design as a powerful tool you can use to change your life for the better. There are many small things you can do to shape and support your desired behaviors without having to change your entire life around. Now you know some simple ways you can alter your environment with minimal effort that will lead to major changes in the long run!