WEEK 156: THE EASIEST FACTOR YOU'RE NOT CONSIDERING FOR YOUR GROWTH

You are the average of the five people you hang out with most.   Jim Rohn

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions): Who do you hang out with the most?

Seriously, take a moment and think about the five people you hang out with most?

Next, think about each person and identify if they are winning or not?

By winning, I mean what are their core processes?

How do they tackle each day? What routines do they have in place to ensure that they win?

What language do they use?

How do they make decisions?

Do they believe anything is possible?

I could go on here and really get into the nuances of it, but these are some general questions you can use to identify the most basic part of your environment.

AS you might have guessed, I want to talk o you about the power of environment today.

To do this I want to share a story about hockey.

You are probably thinking, what does hockey have to with environment and you are about to learn everything.

Now, today Canada is considered the breeding ground of the best hockey players on the planet. 

Makes sense as the whole country experiences chilling winters. 

Also, they have produced hall of game players like Wayne Gretzey.

But how is that Canada produces so many elite hockey players year after year?

Well, if we take a closer look it depends on birthdays.

More specifically if a player is born in January and February verses November and December.

This is all?

No, but the birthday triggers a chain of events that leads (PERCENTAGE) of players to become NHL versus the recreational league.

Why is this?

Well, a study showed that when a player was born in the months of January or February, they have a 9-10 month advantage physically compared to thoes players who are born in November and December.

Thus, when the players are chosen for all star teams the ones born in January and February are naturally bigger and faster physically as their peers born at the end of the year.

This is crucial as being selected for all stars mean better coaches, competition, resources, and training (physical and mental). 

Thus, the being in this elevated environment from a younger age allows them to accelerate the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and mindsets versus their other peers.

They are pushed harder and faster and given the support to progress faster in all aspects of the game. 

Who, although might be playing in good leagues (it is Canada by the way) are not getting even the same level of coaching and experiences as their 10 month older peers.

Thus, the environment plays a crucial role in whether a player enters the NHL or not.

Pretty crazy, but just being born in the first two months out of the year in Canada can play a integral part in whether the player enters the NHL.

Of course there are exceptions to the rule, but the vast majority of players born in these months have a better shot (no pun intended) of making it to the NHL.

And one of the main reasons is the elevated environment they are exposed to.

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Now going back to your life and the five people you hang out with most...

Do they provide a elevated environment for you to accelerate your growth or do they stunt it?

Going to tell you right now this could be a major reason you are STUCK at your current level of play, as that by not vetting your environment kept you subconsciously where you are.

Think about it.

If your goal is to lose weight and get in the best shape of your life, but have a choice to hang out with one, 5 friends who love to eat, versus, five other people who have their fitness on point, which group (environment) will help you accelerate you achieving and maintain your goal?

The answer is pretty clear.

Environment. Environment. Environment./

Huge.

One of the easiest things you can vet and change in order help you get unstuck and start making progress towards achieving your goals. 

Now, there is so much more to environment than just the people you hang around and I could rap about that in a whole other post, but will leave you with just that to think about today.

Go get it this week...J

Top three activities that move me forward?

1. ATLAS...core process to see things properly and accurate thinking.

2. Zen...provides me the clarity.

3. ATLAS...journaling is my route to getting everything out.

Biggest lessons/learnings and corrections?

What are you grateful for?

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PLANNING (Implementation Intention):  You will follow through 2X to 3X more likely to complete your weekly task than you normally would just by filling in the following statement.

I plan to complete the weekly task [day] at [time] in [location]. 

A reminder you might have to use multiple Implementation Intentions in order to follow through.

EXECUTION (strategies used):  From week to week, I use a combination of many strategies. There are always some which are used more than others depending on what comes up, but I wanted to offer a link to all them at once. 

My advice is to identify the I CAN'T statement you tell yourself during the most. Then find a strategy below the statement which resonates with you, and then start using it. 

Enjoy!

STRATEGY LIST