Willpower vs. Environment.

What do you surround yourself with?

The environment that we choose to place ourself in has a big influence over the quantity and quality of things that we fill our days with.

In the book “Willpower Doesn’t Work” , the author argues that our willpower is finite. Meaning that we shouldn’t rely on our willpower to get things done or to stick to our goals. Rather, we should outsource our willpower to our environment.

A great and relevant example is healthy eating.

Everyone wants to eat healthy (I assume), but it is difficult. It’s difficult because there is temptation everywhere and staying committed to eating well when there is a box of chocolates in the cupboard is near impossible.

How often have you grabbed some chocolate whilst doing your groceries and said to yourself, “Oh I’ll only have 1 block a day”…? Then next minute, you’ve finished the whole thing in one sitting.

I definitely have.

So why don’t we simply remove the temptation?

The easiest way to eat well is to surround yourself with healthy, nutritious food. When you do your groceries, avoid picking up the chocolate at all. Stick to the edges of the supermarket, fill your fridge and pantry with (equally delicious) healthy food.

Design your environment so that it is impossible not to succeed.

Whether it is healthy eating, getting work done, starting that new project, training consistently or being more present with our loved ones, the principle is the same.

Don’t rely on our discipline. Make it easy for yourself.

In saying all this, a bit of chocolate every now and then is absolutely fine…

Happy Easter.