This is post is about the danger of being blind to environmental factors. I will start with brief tale that led me to this. 2014 winter was a winter I spent less money than ones before.
Most of our money in six winters before went to doctor visits and drugs (prescription, of course). Living in Johannesburg I was so prone to throat infections that were often difficult to shake without antibiotics.
At the end of July (winter in our part of the world) I just realised I hadn’t visited the because of an ailment doctor once. Not once!
Nothing about my winter routines have changed. The only change is that Ingrid and me moved to Cape Town. I’m told the air is cleaner here. I have no scientific proof but you can see more clearly here than in Johannesburg.
This got me thinking about how I overlooked the impact of environment on my health. I tried taking many preventive measures against throat infections and they barely, if at all, worked.
I was so occupied on preventive medication, eating more food of a certain kind, trying to stay fit that I didn’t think where we lived was one of the causes of most of my throat infections. This got me thinking of the dangers of overlooking environmental factors we sometimes have no control over.
By “environmental factors” the circumstance or surround in which your enterprise, life and other endeavours exist. That’s my working definition…
Resources
When you don’t factor in environmental factors you can misuse, misappropriate and deplete resources. As in my case, I spent a lot of money. If I had known sooner I might have moved to Cape Town sooner.
Keeping in mind environmental factors can help you either focus on changing the factors or moving your enterprise and efforts to a different climate.
Morale
One of the other dangers of being blind to environmental factors is that you could beat yourself or enterprise up, when you’re actually doing well. It is easy to be demoralised and eventually apathetic when you’re doing all you know to do and can’t figure out why it isn’t working.
Great morale doesn’t guarantee great productivity but without it great productivity is more unlikely.
Focus
When environmental factors are overlooked focus is compromised. Effectiveness in fulfilling your mission greatly depends on your ability for insane focus. Some environmental issues don’t deserve your focus or energy as they distract from keeping the main the main thing.
Thus
As you troubleshoot and chart the course of your enterprise make sure you factor in the environmental elements. As best as you can try to understand your environment and what it requires of you and your endeavours.
Don’t be blind to the environmental factors.
For better or worse, sometimes your environment just happens to you [Click to Tweet]