So you want to change your life.

Or at least something in your life.

You have started to work on your mindset, have started new habits. But it is still difficult to make these changes last. You feel that it is still fragile.

Have you thought about changing your environment?

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Why your environment needs to be changed?

You are interacting every day in many aspects consciously or not with your environment.

In particular at home or at work.

This affects your behavior and your thoughts.

You have probably also experienced that in some places you feel relaxed and peaceful and others you feel more anxious.

For example, if your home is messy, you are likely to feel uncomfortable. Well, it depends on of course and maybe you are more comfortable in a messy environment.

But I believe that it is likely to induce some kind of stress. I have lived in both types of environments and I feel much better in a clean and tidy home.

There are even studies showing that our home is like an extension of ourselves.

I am reading an interesting and entertaining book by Dean Burnett which talks about that and much more if you are interested:

My main message is that our environment affects us.

Willpower is not enough

The problem is that to change you are probably relying too much on willpower.

I wrote an article where I give you 5 ways to achieve a goal without willpower that should be a good read for you.

But I didn’t mention the role of the environment.

Let’s take an example.

You decide to eat healthier and reduce or eliminate sugary things such as chocolate.

Since you have this vision of a healthier body, you reprogram your mind. You are less attracted to eating chocolate because you know that it doesn’t fit into your vision. But it is a recent change and still a bit fragile.

The thing is that you have this bowl with chocolate bars on the counter in your kitchen. And that day where you are particularly tired and hungry, well you take one and eat it. That’s natural after all and you like chocolate, the temptation was too strong.

But now, what if you completely remove chocolate from your house. Or at least you place it in a less accessible place (less recommended though). You won’t be tempted and it will help you to incorporate this new diet habit. Soon, you won’t even think about buying chocolate ever.

Reduce distractions

Another way that your environment affects you is by bringing distractions.

For example, if you want or have to work from home, you will maybe sit on your couch with your laptop and start working.

But there is a TV just there. A pile of books you would love to read. Maybe a piano. Oh, and you see this chair you have to fix. Or these curtains you should wash.

You are surrounded by distracting elements because it is not an environment dedicated to working but for relaxing, cleaning your stuff, or making a meal. It is your home.

I won’t do a full article on this topic but you see the point and you have probably experienced this already.

What can you do about it?

You may not have an extra room to install an office, but you can put a desk in the guest bedroom if you have one (that’s what I did). Or at least arrange things in a corner of your lounge to make it feel a bit more of a working place.

I am not an expert in home decor. But sometimes a few little arrangements, the position of the furniture, or adding a small table can change things a lot.

Conclusion

This article is not a guide for home or workspace organization. But I wanted to share this message with you: change your environment to help you change your life.

Even slight changes can have big effects. Don’t rely on willpower, it will always be limited.

My question for you: what is the most annoying thing in your environment that prevents you from changing? How do you plan to modify it? Let’s start the discussion!