W. Clement Stone (1902-2022) was an American businessman who was known for his optimism. He believed that success came by adopting a positive attitude and surrounding yourself with equally positive people. He famously wrote, “You are the product of your environment.” But he was only the latest in a series of philosophers who believed this. Among the early adopters of this belief was Hippocrates. Then there’s John Locke (1632-1704), and Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) and Charles Fourier (1772-1837) and Francis Galton (1822-1911) and Sigmund Freud (1856-1939).[1]

The idea that the people around us, and our physical circumstances, will, in large part, determine the kind of people we become, is widely accepted. The opposing view is that of genetic predisposition—that our mindset and development direction is locked-in at birth as part of our DNA, and that our environment has less influence on us. You’ll find this idea echoed by Carl Jung (1875-1961) and Noam Chomsky (1928-).

People are abused, abandoned, cheated on, lied to, raised by alcoholics, exposed to drugs in the womb, mistreated, rejected, beaten, or any number of other influences. You would be hard-pressed to find anyone at all who has not had some kind of dysfunction in their environment growing up. But the Bible tends to confirm that this is independent of the person he or she will become. Proverbs 23:7 tells us, “For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he…” Despite one’s environment, you are free to think “I can get past this and move on and up in life,” or “I’m trapped by this, and I’m doomed to this circumstance.”

Environment is a tremendous influence on your life, but it does not have the power to dictate your life. You are free, according to the Bible, to reason for yourself. Your environment is not in control, but rather a factor that you can manipulate for your own good and the good of others. Consider, then how to maximize your environment as a positive factor for your leadership:

Your environment supports you. Growing up in the United States, you are already among the wealthiest 8% of the world’s population. Even poverty level in the US is lavish by global comparison—there are no starving people in the US. You have access to the Internet, public schools, transportation, electricity, indoor plumbing, and basic healthcare. Our system of government and economics largely favors individual effort and achievement and focuses on equality of opportunity. Though not perfect, your surroundings give you a broad range of options for personal pursuit.

A recent Gallup poll found that nearly 70% of all Americans considered themselves successful.[2] More interesting is that less than 10% of those surveyed defined success by their social status. Instead, we generally place our views of success in terms of relationships, character, education, and quality of life. By these measures, in our country, one’s surroundings could be said to contribute to your overall wellbeing. Knowing that you will grow and develop as a person in a place where you will receive education, have food on the table and a roof over your head, and live in relative peace influences the decisions you make and the life path that you take. There is a negative environmental influence, for instance, for someone who grows up in a country at war or in poverty, where the stress of getting through the day weighs heavily on them over the years.

Your environment influences you. The culture in which you live impacts how you think of yourself and the world. Western cultures tend to be democratic, and have a strong sense of justice and individualism. Many Middle Eastern and African cultures mix religious and governmental leadership and place a great emphasis on obedience and subjugation to authority. And Eastern or Asian cultures tend toward a class hierarchy where many life decisions may be influenced heavily by family or government leaders. The result of these cultural influences are people groups who live and think quite differently, depending on the environment in which they were raised.

Another thought-line related to culture is divided between collective and individualistic environments. Behaviorist Lynda Gantt explains, “Someone growing up in a ‘tight’ (collective) culture, where rules are strongly enforced, does not support individualistic thought or behavior. Collective cultures believe a person’s first obligation is to society. And, they must sacrifice their needs to benefit the greater good. However, persons who are raised in a ‘loose’ (Individualistic) culture have more latitude in how they behave and what they believe. The personality trait of extroversion motivates people’s individualistic thought and behavior so there are more differences in the population.”[3]

Your environment connects you. Lastly, consider that the people you know may deeply influence your life and leadership. Your parents, close friends, teachers, pastor, your boss—all of these will through speech and action inform you about aspects of life and work. Kind words, an aggressive tone, narcissism, dysfunction, loving embrace, cold and calculating interactions—all of these will have a profound influence on a child, adolescent and adult.[4] It is important to realize in adulthood that our closest relationships as children have affected the way we form relationships and interact with others. John Rohn famously said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

You can positively impact your life by connecting with others who are a positive personal and spiritual influence on you. If you find yourself stressed and frustrated by the people you are around, choose as many positive interactions as you can. You may not be able to avoid a blunt or manipulative boss, but you can choose to connect to friends and relatives who are emotionally supportive and caring, and who desire the best for you. Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs said, “Surround yourself with the dreamers and the doers, the believers and thinkers, but most all, surround yourself with those who see greatness within you, even when you don’t see it yourself.”

[1] https://www.panarchy.org/dubos/humannature.1968.html

[2] https://news.gallup.com/opinion/gallup/266927/americans-perceptions-success.aspx

[3] https://santamariatimes.com/lifestyles/columnist/lynda-gantt-how-does-culture-affect-behavior/article_78b4f192-cb93-511e-9c0d-d1c309320623.html

[4] https://exploringyourmind.com/how-parents-shape-their-childrens-personalities/

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