PRIORITIZING YOUR ENVIRONMENT

Environment is the most important component of the success or failures in our individual lives!

When we hear the words "product of our environment," that statement alone has the ability to stir up a litany of emotions. We oftentimes hear people who come from turbulence - stricken backgrounds, who find themselves in detrimental situations or circumstances, say, "I'm just a product of my environment." We also hear people who come from those same turbulence - stricken backgrounds, but seem to put themselves in advantageous situations or circumstances say, "I refuse to just be a product of my environment." The irony is that in both cases, they are indeed products of their environments.

THE QUESTION THEN BECOMES, WHAT ARE ENVIRONMENTS?

On the surface, one could concede that environments are physical places, such as our homes, the schools that we attend, or the neighborhoods that we grew up in and all of the circumstances that encompassed them. Now, while our homes, schools, and neighborhoods are all examples of environments, those examples merely scratch the surface in terms of the depths of what environments truly are.

Environments, in their most literal form, are the unique conditions necessary for something to grow. It is impossible for anything, tangible or intangible, to grow or thrive without the environment being conducive for it to do so. Environments are sometimes already established for us, while other times we have to establish them for ourselves. Environments are both physical as well as mental. Physical environments are tangible places, while mental environments, which consist of our thoughts, perspectives and attitudes, are intangible.

The quality or the lack thereof in any and all products can be traced back to their respective origins, which is their environments. We are all products of our environments, whether they are tangible or intangible. We often take our natural ability to cultivate the environments necessary for our individual desired growth for granted, which allows for our physical environments (actual places), and mental environments (thoughts, perspective, attitudes) to be cultivated by something or someone other than ourselves.

You are going to have individual experiences that are influenced by the physical and mental environments that you cultivate. These experiences will give you knowledge and information that will shape your thoughts -- your perspective of the world and how you fit in it -- in comparison to others. These environments and the knowledge gained from the experience that they produce, will ultimately determine how successful you are at navigating through your life.

"TO SEE ONE'S SUCCESS OR FAILURES IS TO SEE ONE'S ENVIRONMENT"

                                          -Steve Paulina

It is SEAL the DEAL’s mission to create experiences that provoke thought which extends into dialogue and ultimately through actions effects positive change.