You are your environment

You are are the result of your environment.

As much as I like to think that I am a fully rational autonomous being, I am shaped by my environment much more than I care to admit.

We are not separate from our environment.  We are so deeply enmeshed in it that it's hard to tell if there really is a thing we call "the self."

Einstein said, "The separation of the observer from the observed is an illusion."
And Eckart Tolle:  "Your body is not separate from the universe; it is a part of it. One thing. One movement."

Setting and pursuing a goals is often thought of as an individual and internal act - the wants, willpower and motivation of an individual.  It may be more true to see our goals and pursuits as a product of our environments.  What we want is largely shaped by our community, culture, information inputs, and the stresses or opportunities present in our environment.

When we fail to achieve a goal or stick to a habit, we can feel defeated.  "There's something wrong with me!  I keep failing.  I can't stick to this."  The issue is not with the individual, but with their environment.  (Maybe we could say that the fault lies with the individual not shaping their environment, but still...)

A flower uprooted from a garden bed and placed in a closet will wither, regardless of how determined or motivated it may be.  But placed back in soil and sunshine, it will thrive with little effort.  No motivation, positive affirmations or slick strategies needed.  Just a change in environment.

You are this way too.
There are environments that you flourish in and environments that suck the life out of you.
In some environments you are disciplined and productive, others make you distracted or lethargic.
Some environments fill you with wonder and joy (for my wife that's the thrift store on 50% off day), and others turn you rigid and pessimistic about humanity (for me that's the thrift store on 50% off day. Never again.)

If you want to change your habits, change your environment.
If you want to change your emotions, change your environment.
If you want to change your energy levels, change your environment.

You environment can be your physical space.  Your community and relationships.  Your routines.  Your geography.  Where you work.  What you work on.  Where and how you rest.  Your inputs (information, entertainment).  Your nutrition, supplements or medication.  Your incentives and consequences.

When setting goals, spend just as much energy crafting and curating your environment as you do your strategies and motivation.  Your internal environment matters (thoughts, beliefs, emotions).  But just as much and maybe more, your external environment will support or sabotage your efforts.

"Environment is stronger than willpower." - Paramahansa Yogananda

Can you set up an environment in which doing/being who you want to be is nearly effortless?
Can you create an environment where achieving your goals is nearly automatic?
Can you craft an environment where it's difficult or undesirable to do the things you don't want to do?

"The world is not something separate from you and me; the world, and you and I, and all of us, we are interconnected." - Thich Nhat Hanh