Rami's Universe

Your Environment Is Sabotaging Your Habits

3 min read

Video version: The power of habits script

Have you ever noticed how quickly you fall back into old routines when you return to familiar places? This isn’t a coincidence; it’s a powerful demonstration of how our environment shapes our habits and behaviors, often without us even realizing it.

The Invisible Force of Environment

Recently, I experienced this firsthand when I returned to my family home. Almost immediately, I found myself reverting to childhood habits. Suddenly having the urge to eat breakfast regularly, something I hadn’t done in years. It wasn’t a conscious decision; it was as if my surroundings activated dormant behavioral patterns. This isn’t just about food choices. Our environment influences virtually every habit we form:

  • Physical spaces: What’s within easy reach in your home or workspace? Is your desk closer to chips or to a water bottle and fruit?
  • Social circles: The people we spend time with dramatically influence our behaviors and standards
  • Digital environment: What fills your social media feeds and screen time?

(I’m a true believer of the saying “you are the average of 5 people you spend most time with”1)

Turning Environmental Influence to Your Advantage

The good news is that once you recognize this powerful force, you can harness it to support positive change rather than letting it sabotage your goals. Here are some practical ways I’ve implemented this understanding:

  1. Morning light exposure: I make sure to get sunlight or bright light immediately after waking up, signaling to my body that it’s time to be alert and productive
  2. Strategic food placement: I never keep food in my bedroom, it stays in designated areas outside my personal space (except water, which I keep abundant and accessible around me)
  3. Selective social environment: I’m intentional about who I spend time with, prioritizing relationships that help me grow and avoiding those that pull me toward old patterns
    1. same thing with social media. I’m very selective with what I decide to consume. I only watch content from my “watch later” list. This gives me a chance to think twice before actually investing my time in watching a video (once before adding it to the list, once after)
  4. Creating friction for distractions: I lock my phone in a safe while working, making it more difficult to access distractions than to focus on the task at hand

When Environment Changes, Habits Follow

The power of environment works both ways. Just as quickly as I fell into old patterns when visiting home, I returned to my healthier routines when I went back to university. This demonstrates an encouraging truth: even if you temporarily lose good habits, returning to the environment where you established them can help you regain them with surprising ease.

Taking Action

Consider how you might redesign your environment to make good habits inevitable rather than impossible:

  • What could you place within arm’s reach to encourage positive behaviors?
  • What should you remove or make less accessible?
  • Which relationships nurture your growth, and which pull you back?
  • How can you create “friction” for habits you want to break?

Remember, willpower is limited, but environmental design can make good choices the https://notes.rami-maalouf.tech/My-Outputs/My-Essays/Glazing-nathanielpath of least resistance. Instead of fighting against your surroundings, make them work for you. What aspects of your environment could you adjust today to support the habits you want to build?

Footnotes

  1. “You spend most time with” is a very dynamic term. It includes the content you consume on social media like YouTube, LinkedIn, Insta, podcasts, books, etc… Not only who you surround yourself with physically ↩

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