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When I wanted to write my first book, I heard an author share this advice: “Live in one place. Work in another place. Write in your third place.”
At the time, I was living in San Francisco in an indescribably small condo, working remotely in a corner of my kitchen. I needed a third place. I discovered a Starbucks two blocks away that opened at 5:30 a.m. It became my third place for three months while I wrote my book each morning. It worked! While I’ve always credited my willpower for my success and blamed it for my stumbles, that “third place” mattered. According to the book Willpower Doesn’t Work by Benjamin Hardy, success has more to do with changing our environment than changing our willpower. He says: “Your environment influences you whether you realize it or not.” “Continuing to focus on mindset, willpower, and goal setting is an outdated and misplaced approach to success. It’s not that these strategies are inherently bad. Rather, it’s that the focus is entirely wrong.” “The future of self-help will not be focused on ‘the self,’ but rather it will be focused on the environment that shapes the self.” While Hardy primarily speaks to how we design the physicality of our environment, I read the book in reference to the people we choose to spend time with – they either contribute to or contaminate our environment. As I pored over his book, I reflected on our mentoring programs. I constantly implore participants to “Make time for mentoring!” But isn’t this merely a shrouded appeal to mindset and willpower? Instead, I should ask them if they want to change their lives. When you want to change your behaviors, your success, and your life, change the people in your environment:
The people you surround yourself with are a gateway to your future… choose intentionally! © 2023. Ann Tardy and MentorLead. www.mentorlead.com. All Rights Reserved. |