Whether you run a business, pursue a creative project like a podcast, a YouTube channel, or music, or are pursuing a certain career path, you’re investing a lot of time, effort, and energy into it.
Maybe at the cost of your social life, spending less time with family, or even investing in your health. You’re passionate about the thing, and you’re going all in.
However, you’re not seeing the results you want, or thought you would have by now.
And it’s not like you’ve only just started. It’s not been a few weeks, a few months or even a year. You’ve been plugging away at this thing, whatever the thing is, for years. And it’s just not taking off.
Why Your Hard Work Might Not Be Paying Off
There could be many factors as to why.
Maybe it’s a skill you just need to develop.
Or maybe you just haven’t met the right people yet. They often say, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” And I’m sure we’ve all had at least a couple of experiences where that wise old saying has come true.
It could also be that you’re just in the wrong place.
You could actually be doing everything right, on the right path, pursuing the right business, creative project or career, but not reaching your potential because you’re in the wrong place. And by making a few tweaks, a few adjustments, it could take off.
A Lesson from Chris Williamson on Changing Your Environment
What do I mean by this?
Well, this is a life lesson I learned from Chris Williamson, the host of the Modern Wisdom podcast. (It’s one I also shared in my 10 lessons from his Mostly Wise live show.) He spoke about how, once he moved from the UK to the US, his podcast, over a couple of years, became the eighth-biggest podcast in the world.
Mind-blowing, right?
He puts that largely down to changing his physical environment. Not just moving towns or cities, but moving countries, to surround himself with more like-minded people and put himself in a culture that celebrates business, entrepreneurship and creative endeavours more than the UK does.
At the time of writing, there seems to be an epidemic, if you could call it that, of business-minded, entrepreneurial and creative people leaving the UK for countries with more of an entrepreneurship and start-up culture.
Let me put it this way: the UK doesn’t really celebrate entrepreneurship, or people who think differently in this way.
You Don’t Have to Emigrate to Change Your Environment
Now, I’m not saying you, me, or any of us have to take such a huge leap of faith, leaving our entire life behind and emigrating for the thing we’re working on, or the career path we’re pursuing, to take off.
There are no guarantees in this life. And it’s not to say that if we were to do so, we would get similar results to Chris.
However, I think the fundamental lesson remains true.
We may be pursuing a certain path, having invested a lot of time, energy and maybe even money into it, without it taking off. And there may not be anything inherently wrong with what we’re doing. We’re just in the wrong environment.
Changing towns. Changing who we surround ourselves with. Changing jobs. Changing departments. In other words, just changing something, no matter how small it might be, might be the catalyst required to change the trajectory of our life.
Why Change Feels So Hard
One of the difficulties is that change is hard.
For the most part, we like familiarity. We’re creatures of comfort. I think, in large part, it’s part of our survival mechanism.
When we know, or think we know, what’s going to happen, at what time, on what day, because we’ve been doing it for so long, it gives us a sense of comfort. Breaking that requires a lot of courage, and faith in uncertainty and the unknown.
Simply put, as a species, we’re not typically good with uncertainty. While this may vary from person to person, I know that, for me at least, uncertainty does drive anxiety and can cause a lot of unease and unrest within myself.
It’s worth pointing out that I’m an overly anxious person, and there are those of us who lean more this way.
Instigate Change Before Life Does It for You
The point, though, is that change is inevitable in this life. We can either instigate it ourselves, or allow the natural unfolding process of life to do it for us.
And when we’re working on a business or project, pursuing a certain career, or even just designing our lives (which we’re all doing, either consciously or unconsciously), I prefer the former. I’d rather instigate it myself.
We Become the Byproduct of Our Environment
This lesson, that we could be doing everything (or something) right but be in the wrong place, is an important one. The business and entrepreneurship example is a good one, and it highlights how our culture, our environment, massively shapes and influences our success.
It’s a feedback mechanism, a cycle that is deeply integrated.
It’s why there are these fairly well-known sayings: we become the byproduct of our environment, or we become the average of the five people we spend the most time with.
These truths are truths for a reason: because they’re true. And if we stay with what we’ve always known, we’re always going to get what we’ve always got.
So, if you’re pursuing a business, a creative project or a certain career path, and things aren’t working for you, remember this: you may not be doing anything inherently wrong. You could just be in the wrong place.
It could just take associating with different people. Moving to the next city, or a bigger city. Or changing departments to start fulfilling your potential.
How to Change Your Environment: Stay Curious and Listen to Feedback
Of course, the possibilities are somewhat endless, which could be overwhelming for some.
This is why I think having an open, curiosity-driven mindset is so important. To be open and curious about experimenting, trying new things and receiving feedback.
Remember: life is always giving us feedback; whether we choose to listen or not is up to us.
Through that feedback, there’s often a lesson. It’s often life trying to tell us something, and eventually it will, whether we decide to listen initially or not.
For most of us, when we don’t listen at first, it can result in a lot more unrest, unease and turmoil, even pain, later down the line. If we were just a little more aware, a little more conscious in the moment, then maybe we would save ourselves a lot of unnecessary suffering.
But then again, maybe we need to go through the pain to learn the lesson we need to learn, to grow, and propel our personal growth.
At the end of the day, none of us knows for sure. We’re all just figuring it out, doing the best we can.
Unlock Your Potential, One Tweak at a Time
The point of all this is to help you see whatever you’re working on, or towards, right now especially if you’re not getting the results or outcomes you initially thought you would, and you feel stuck and stagnant that making a few tweaks, one at a time, gradually over time, could be the approach needed to start unlocking your potential.
Remember, you may not be doing anything inherently wrong. You could just be in the wrong place.
And you have the agency, choice and power to change that. Not all at once, all in one go, but gradually, by making one tweak at a time.
Key Takeaways for The Power of Changing Environments
- Effort without results: If you have worked hard at a business, creative project or career for years without it taking off, you may not be doing anything inherently wrong. You could just be in the wrong place.
- Three possible causes: When progress stalls, it may be a skill you still need to develop, the right people you have not met yet, or an environment that does not support what you are doing.
- The Chris Williamson example: After moving from the UK to the US, Chris Williamson saw Modern Wisdom grow over a few years into the eighth biggest podcast in the world. He puts it largely down to changing his environment and surrounding himself with like-minded people.
- Small moves count: You do not need to emigrate. Changing towns, jobs, departments or the people you spend time with can be the catalyst that changes the trajectory of your life.
- Why change is hard: Familiarity feels safe because it is part of our survival mechanism. Uncertainty drives anxiety, so breaking a routine takes courage and faith in the unknown.
- Choose change first: Change is inevitable. You can instigate it yourself or wait for life to force it on you, and waiting often brings more unrest and pain later.
- Environment shapes success: We become the byproduct of our environment. If we stay with what we have always known, we will always get what we have always got.
- One tweak at a time: Stay curious, experiment and listen to feedback. Make one small adjustment at a time rather than overhauling everything at once.
FAQs for The Power of Changing Environments
Why am I not seeing results after years of hard work?
You may simply be in the wrong place. Years of effort without progress do not always mean you are on the wrong path. The cause could be a skill you still need to develop, people you have not met yet, or an environment and culture that hold your work back rather than help it grow.
Can changing your environment really change your results?
Yes, your environment can change your results, because culture and the people around you shape your success. Chris Williamson credits moving from the UK to the US, and surrounding himself with like-minded people, as a major reason his podcast grew into one of the biggest in the world. There are no guarantees, but the lesson holds.
Do I need to move country to change my environment?
No, you do not need to emigrate. Changing your environment can be as small as changing who you spend time with, moving to a bigger city, switching jobs or moving departments. Any one of these small moves can be the catalyst that changes your trajectory, without leaving your whole life behind.
Why is it so hard to change even when something isn’t working?
Change is hard because we are creatures of comfort and familiarity is part of our survival mechanism. Knowing what will happen, and when, feels safe. Uncertainty, on the other hand, drives anxiety and unease, so breaking a familiar routine takes real courage and faith in the unknown.
What does “you become the average of the five people you spend the most time with” mean?
It means the people around you shape who you become and what you achieve. Your environment works as a feedback cycle: its culture and relationships influence your habits, thinking and success. If you stay with what you have always known, you will keep getting what you have always got.
Where should I start if I feel stuck?
Start with one small tweak, not a complete overhaul. Stay curious, experiment with something new, such as meeting different people or trying a different department, and pay attention to the feedback life gives you. Then make the next adjustment, gradually, one change at a time.
