Environment: The Invisible Hand That Shapes Your Body

I used to think that there were special exercises.

That I just hadn’t found the right ones to help change my body in the way I wanted.

To help me overcome my chronic pains & injuries.

While this was partly true (I was just foam rolling & stretching which was not the answer)….this thought process of thinking some exercises were the only things that were changing my body was a very naieve view indeed.

But it’s one most of us have, as we don’t know any better unfortunately.

Ever wonder why some people change quicker than others? How some people get better long-term progress than others? Why some people change but then go back to the way they were?

You are starting to ask better questions, which will lead to better answers and outcomes

Knowing what I know now (and what you will by the end of this newsletter), it’s clear as day.

I have been using it to my advantage ever since. And you can too.

ENVIRONMENT is the invisible hand that shapes you

The ENVIRONMENT is the answer here.

Why some change quicker than others, why some get better long-term progress than others, why some get progress then go backwards……..the environment has a massive IMPACT on this.

This is key because if you think it’s YOUR body that's the problem, you will always hold yourself back.

Doing some ‘fix’ for your body (or your mindset/life) thinking its going to get you long term change, it’s just not going to happen.

It’s the environment that will massively facilitate and accelerate that change. Whether you accelerate towards progression or regression will depend on the environment you are in.

Few quick fire examples here to make sense of this for you:

• Body: Someone who does 5 hours of mobility one day then nothing for the rest of the month, vs someone who does mobility each day for 10 mins (it’s the same overall time).

• Mindset: You read all the daily stoic book in one day, vs reading a page a day (like I do for you on Instagram each morning)

• Life: You save all your money from this monthly paycheck and that’s it, vs making a commitment to save 10% of all future ones

The difference here is the first scenario in the body, mindset, life are focusing on the QUICK FIX, the 2nd scenarios are focusing on CREATING THE ENVIRONMENT THAT FACILITATES LONG TERM CHANGE.

Your body & your brain change & adapt based on what you do REPEATEDLY.

Your brain and body change & adapt on the ENVIRONMENT you give yourself each day.

- If you put all the 5 hours of mobility into one day, you have 29 other days where you have a negative environment that isn’t creating positive change.

- If you read all the stoic book in one day, you have 29 other days where you have a negative environment (the news, paper, social media etc).

- If you save just one paycheck over implementing an environment of solid saving habits, you won’t build the financial freedom you want

It all comes down to the ENVIRONMENT at the end of the day. This is what will determine how we change long term. With your body, mindset & life.

Answer this question, and it will hammer home the point here:

You have two 10-year-old kids. James and Johnny. You decide the following:

• You put James into a video game club where he plays video games 5 days a week

• You put Johnny into a gymnastics club where he does gymnastics 5 days a week

Now……5 years pass……...who will be stronger and more mobile???

Pretty clear answer: Johnny.

Ok cool, but WHY????

And then you will see the whole point of this newsletter - that it was the ENVIRONMENT THAT CREATED THE CHANGE. Not any one fix or hack. Nothing to do with Johnny's body or James body. It was the ENVIRONMENT that made the difference.

Why am I telling you this?

Because you need to understand that the problem isn’t YOUR body

The problem is the ENVIRONMENT you give your body.

The human body is INCREDIBLY ADAPTABLE OVER TIME

BUT……it can only adapt to it’s environment

Change your ENVIRONMENT (training & movement diet). And you will change your BODY. Just like Johnny did in this example.

If you switched James into gymnastics instead of Johnny at the start, then James would have the better mobility & strength. It had nothing to do with them as individuals.

Once you know this, you can use it to your advantage and get much better long term results with your mobility, but also with ANYTHING ELSE in your life that you want to improve long term.

• Want better mobility = sign up to an environment where you have a daily mobility plan for your limitations

• Want a better business = get yourself into an environment of successful business owners ahead of where you are

• Want a better mindset & perspective = get yourself an environment where you read valuable wisdom & insights each day so that it slowly rubs off on you over time

• Want financial freedom = create an environment of good saving habits

“The environment is the invisible hand that shapes behaviour” - James Clear

And you BEHAVE your way to success or failure.

The environment is the wind pushing your boat towards the island you want to arrive at, or towards the rocks that will halt your progress.

It’s up to you to adjust the sails to catch the right wind that brings you in the direction you want.

If you don’t understand how IMPACTFUL the environment is on your progress in any area of life, you will end up in environments that aren’t pulling you in the direction you want.

After using the environment to my advantage the last 7 years, I can attest to the massive change from understanding this fundamental truth. Accross my body, mindset, and LIFE.

If you aren’t getting progress, the environment change will START it.

If you are getting progress, the environment change will ACCELERATE it.

Environment is the invisible hand that shapes behavior

And you behave your way to success or failure

The Moken Tribe - The Power the Environment has in driving CHANGE

The Moken tribe live in South-East Asia. Aroud Myanmar & Thailand. They live a semi hunter-gatherer lifestyle, except this is in the SEA, not on land. (Moken is a Thai word meaning ‘sea people’). There are only a few thousand Moken tribe left.

The Moken tribe essentially live on/near water all their lives. Even living on their boats. They have adapted their lifestyle around the sea and can sustain themselves through this way of living.

Why am I bringing these up?

Because it’s been proven and documented that the moken tribe can SEE UNDERWATER TO THE LEVEL THAT DOLPHINS CAN.

THEY CAN SEE UNDERWATER PERFECTLY CLEARLY.

How? You guessed it - the ENVIRONMENT.

Live in the environment of water ever since you were a baby, and your eyes will ADAPT SLOWLY OVER TIME…..to be able to see underwater clearly.

But if I just chucked a baby into the water for a day (quick fix approach) would he get the same progress? Of course not, and I’d be on my way to prison! haha. I don’t think the courts would appreciate my dedication to prove a point of how the environment is key in how we change.

And there's another point worth noting here - the Moken tribe are not aliens from another planet. They are homo-sapiens, the same human species as YOU & I. The same species the WHOLE WORLD IS.

We share the same DNA. We share the same ABILITY TO ADAPT OVER TIME BASED ON OUR ENVIRONMENT.

This was one of the most empowering things to me going through my journey of 10 years with chronic pains & injury.

I’m here listening to doctors/osteo/physios etc telling me I can’t change…….and yet there is CLEAR EVIDENCE OUT THERE OF OUR MASSIVE ABILITY TO CHANGE OVER TIME.

The moken tribe can adapt to be able to see underwater clearly……..and I can’t adapt and make my hip move better over time?! My spine?! Just the way it is, nothing can be done, time to settle? Gtfoutaaaaa here.

I stopped listening to the ‘experts’, as I realised they really didn’t have a clue how amazingly adaptable the human body is with the right environment & approach.

Instead of FOLLOWING THE RESULTS and coming across this sort of info, they were stuck learning outdated info on dead pig spines probably (there is literally a Dr who is huge on back pain research (Stuart McGill) who in one of his studies bent dead pig spines over and over again and found the disc herniates, and concluded this was the cause of back pain in living humans. Comparing DEAD pigs, to LIVING humans.....right. Think I'll stick with LIVING HUMAN examples, thanks).

Next time you think you can’t change, think of the Moken tribe. Think of the same possibility for change you have too, genetically.

We are taking facts here not airy fairy bullshit. The data & proof is there.

National Geographic has gone out to study & document them - watch a little clip of it here:

The jury has reached a unanimous verdict - the ENVIRONMENT massively shapes how you change.

Use this information to change your life for better or for worse. Your choice.

You have a lot more control than you think

3 Actionable Takeaways:

1. Understand the massive effects the environment has on your body

• The environment shapes how you change

• For positive change or negative change

• It plays a crucial factor in long-term progress

2. Identify what ways you can use this to your advantage

• Choose what area of your life you want to improve

• Get in the right environment to facilitate this change

3. Incorporate this new environment into your life and reap the benefits

• Commit to the process of the new environment over the quick fix

• Understand its the slow changes over time that will make a massive difference

Client Examples:

In my Physical Freedom program (1:1 coaching), I'll pull out a few examples of where clients have said how the importance of changing their environment & routine was in creating the long-term change they were looking for! (the info in this email is part of the education for clients on their journey)

• Leanna's example of her 20 minute routine in the morning. Full review here 

• Colin with his easily achievable daily routine. Full review here

• Anna worried about the program time, but it was made easily accessible. Full review here

MY WEEK:

Education:

• Current Reading: The Denial of Death (didn't read any this week)

• Podcasts

(On Purpose with Jay Shetty: 3 Mistakes we make in relationships & why the 5 love languages can transform your connection)

(Just Fly Performance Podcast #329: John Kiely on belief, perception and placebos in an optimised training process)

(Modern Wisdom Podcast #537: Richard Reeves - Does anyone care about men's struggles)

Business:

This week's client testimonial (Peter Lane). Full review here

Personal:

Fun this week:

• Wednesday: Went to the cinema to see ‘the Banshees of Inisherin'

• Saturday: Heading home on the train this afternoon. Family dinner out this evening

Training:

• Tested my max weighted chin up. Failed 40kg again - 2nd year in a row. I am mainly training toward the one arm chin up, which has been going up and I got a PB recently. But the weighted chin up doesn’t seem to be going up anymore. Looks like I would need to put more focus on heavy weighted chins if I want to improve that max. Don’t really care for now as the OAC is still progressing. Maybe once I get it, I will switch to a weighted chin up goal. Interesting data though

• Lower body session Monday and Upper body (push session) Wednesday

• 3 Jiu-Jitsu sessions. Training Tuesday & Thursday. Then a seminar with Lucas ‘the hulk’ Barbosa in our gym on Friday! If you do Jiu-Jitsu you probably know him. World champion before

That’s it! I hope this newsletter was inspirational and educational! That’s the goal with all of my content.

Inspiration to make you take action, and education so you know how to start moving forward in the right direction.

Being inspired to move, but heading in the WRONG direction toward the quick fixes won’t get you very far. Been there too long myself. Let my past mistakes guide your future PROGRESS.

Get in the right environments for areas of your life you want to improve! And just like the Moken tribe learned to see clearly underwater, you will learn to see how you can use the superpower of ENVIRONMENT to get long term progress with your body and anything else in life!

Enjoy the weekend 🙂

Don’t Settle,

Mark