Are we Products of our Environment, or Products of our Expectations?
Our environment is what surrounds us externally, while our expectations are what we expect of ourselves internally. Many people believe that we are a product of our environment, but does that have to be the case? If LeBron James was a product of his environment growing up, he would not have grown up to be the greatest basketball player to ever live. Instead, he overcame his environment and lived up to the expectations he and everyone else had for him. Environments are a driving force in our lives, good or bad and they can shape us as individuals. Cultural influences, social structures, economic factors, educational institutions, etc, are all things that shape the people we become, but do they necessarily mean we become everything that we are around and what everyone else tells us? I believe that is probably one of the hardest questions to answer because only we can decide what and who we want to become.
In my personal experience, I have grown up in a pretty supportive environment with a good foundation I’d say, but my family isn’t too keen on wellness, physical activity, or a healthy lifestyle, and that is something that I pride myself on. My environment is surrounded by unhealthy eating, overweight individuals, and unhealthy lifestyle choices, but I choose not to live that way because I have higher expectations for myself. The number of times I hear weekly how crazy I am for my routine, or going to the gym every day, or wanting to eat enough protein is astronomical, but I still continue to do it because it is how I choose to live my life and I have educated myself on how I think the best way to live is. It would be a lot easier to confine to my environment and just do what everyone else is doing because no one would make me feel ostracized but I want to live up to the expectations that I have for myself without my environment restricting me.
Back to the question of if we are a product of our environment or our expectations, it truly is up to the individual. Do they want to become products of their environment? Or do they want to become what the expectations they have set up for themselves? It takes a lot of self-reflection and sacrifice to live up to expectations and become what you see yourself as, and it takes a lot less work to succumb to the environment around you. So the final answer to that question is that our environment can shape us and influence who we become, but we are ultimately products of what we choose to make of ourselves.
Hello Rob!
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog post about environment vs. expectation. I like how you included the example regarding LeBron James, he is a perfect example of a product of one's expectations. I definitely agree with the last statement of your post... "our environment can shape us and influence who we become, but we are ultimately products of what we choose to make of ourselves". However, I still believe that we all are a products of both our environment and expectation. Like you said, "it takes less work to succumb to the environment around you", so ultimately those that don't make any choices for themselves or don't have expectations will be shaped more by their environment. So I ultimately believe that personality traits determine whether we are more a product of our environment or more our own expectations.
Overall, great work Rob!
I wish you would have spoken a bit on external expectations. That being said I appreciated the reference you used and personal information you were willing to share which I relate to in numerous ways. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHi Robert! I really liked your post because the reality is that everything depends on the person and what he/she decides to do with his/her life. Sometimes choosing the best path is not easy but it is worth it, the person is the one who has to decide what they want their future to be like and practice it in the actions of the present. I liked your examples and personal experience because they are realistic cases, not because your family leads a lifestyle means that you have to follow the same pattern.
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