Is your environment holding you back?
I was recently hanging out with a good friend of mine Dan Beerman. Dan is a mountaineer, a climber and one hell of an outdoors guy
One of Dan's life goals is to climb the highest mountain on all seven continents, yet Dan is currently living in Missouri for a handful of professional and personal reasons.
As we were talking about this goal, and Dan's current living situation he said a simple statement that really hit home.
"No matter how hard I try, I can't climb mountains in Missouri."
No matter how much training he puts in, how much he researches it, it is physically impossible for Dan to climb mountains in Missouri.
There is a simple physical problem with Dan's environment which inhibits him from achieving his goal in life.
For Dan, the only way he can achieve his life goals is to change his reality and change his environment.
I think a lot of us can look at that lesson about our environment in different ways.
Our environment is more than our geographical location.
Our community
Our living space
Our friends
All of these things become our environment and impact our happiness and what we can accomplish in life.
If you find yourself stuck in a rutt, where you don't know what the next steps are. Then consider changing your environment.
It worked for me, and I know it can do the same for you.
Reinventing myself in Mexico
Last year, I was in a rutt. I was coming out of a failed venture and I was trying to figure out what my next steps were in life.
I didn't know what the next steps were, but I knew I needed drastic change.
I bought a one way ticket for my girlfriend Elisabeth and myself to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
We didn't have a plan. We didn't know for how long or where we were going to live, but we knew we needed a change.
Once we made it to Mexico, it was amazing. There were no distractions, no pointless meetings, and no one had any preconceived notions of who I was.
Recent artwork since moving to Mexico
I was surrounding by new scenery, new food, and new people.
All of these elements combined into a completely new me.
I began writing again.
I began drawing again.
I began dreaming again.
This move has been more than a vacation. This has been an opportunity to clear my mind and discover who Jake Jorgovan really is.
I have to say, I have already learned a lot.
Is your environment holding you back?
Are you stuck in a rutt?
Do you not know what the next steps are?
Then ask yourself this simple question.
"Am I trying to climb mountains in Missouri?"
Maybe it is the city you are in, the place you are living or the friends you surround yourself with.
You environment impacts your happiness and success so much more than you realize.