Weeknotes no.14 – your environment matters
the almanack of naval ravikant is this lovely book written by eric jorgenson which brings together quotes, transcripts, etc. from @naval. amongst them is this simple, but powerful masterpiece (p74):
The three big decisions - what you do, where you live, and who you’re with.
on holiday in portugal i realized that once again: where you live has such a big impact on your life(style).
running shirtless along the lisbon waterfront is a different life than being in a small countryish town in cold germany.
being head over heels deep in the tech bubble at the front of ai news is a different life than driving boats with tourists along the sunny algarve coast. i do not mean this with any negative connotation. it’s just an observation.
in the end, both need to be happy with their three big decisions.
reciprocal determinism is the fancy term for it that i recently learned. it means that a person, their behavior, and their environment all shape one another in a continuous loop.
while “who you’re with” is primarily focused on partner and/or friends and family, i think that this idea needs to be expanded. since we’re no longer primarily offline and a lot of us spend a significant amount of time online or on social media, that needs to be taken into account as well. who you follow, or which people you or the algorithm puts in your timeline are also big new factors.
consciously or subconsciously we all choose what “normal” or our standard is. and in a way that is also influenced by the people we spend time with, or the people we follow online.
carefully choose whom you give attention to, as it changes you.