Embracing your environmental triggers
While dining out with family in California last month, my brother-in-law asked why I chose to move to Vermont. I’ve moved 44 times over the years, so it was a familiar question, but one that can, honestly, still trigger a variety of feelings.
Where you live, work, and spend a significant amount of your time can be emotionally charged. Because those environments influence what you do and how you feel — as well as how you respond. While “experts” (ie., marketers) will lead you to believe that interior design trends and lifestyle influencers have all the answers, the truth is that you’re already living in a world that triggers your best — or worst — feelings and behaviors.
The key isn’t watching how others build their environment, it’s noticing the environments where you already live, work and play. Tracee Ellis Ross shares that fashion is “what everybody is saying is in or out,” while style “is how you do things.” Take that concept about clothing and apply it to the environment. Objects, lighting, noise, and odors are literal aspects of your style.
Although, what’s literal is most often metaphorical. Which results in triggers. The dynamics and tensions of environment style involves structures and systems - those nudge interaction tactics, rule following, expectations, and codes of behavior. You can modify, change, or create an environment style for the purpose of triggering a habit.
A useful start may be to look at the surroundings in your home to explore how you most often poise (aka P.O.I.S.E.) in your environment. Is there one domain that captures your environment style (e.g. more social health emphasis than physical health)?
Then consider a routine practice, skill, or goal you desire.
Why does your environment style work well? Work not so well?
What do you learn by “working the cause” (aka C.O.S.)?
How might you modify your environment style to achieve a habit? Is there an alternative way to structure a task? An alternative system for doing what you desire? Literally? Metaphorically?
How will that strengthen a different domain of health? Your behavior? Routine action?
The left image illustrates the POISE and COS process. The hypothetical example on the right illustrates a person working the process with a goal to move more, an actionable task involving exercise (COS symbols surrounding the actionable task are replaced with their factor descriptions.) Social health is most meaningful, the goal emphasizes physical health, and the environment they choose to move more in is their garage.
