Part 5: Environment and Social Design

I tried to use a fancier quote than 'you are a product of your environment''.

Because the first time I heard that saying, I didn't quite grasp the depth of it.

It was only until several life experiences later, that I realised how valuable this saying really is.

I read a fascinating book (Bounce by Matthew Syed) that explores this concept further.

It shares examples of world class sports people and musicians who were brought up in unique environments.

One example that caught my eye was that of a headmaster in England - Mr. Charters.

Mr. Charters taught at a primary school in Reading, England.

He also happened to be the nation's top table tennis coach.

Following his passion for the sport, he made all the students from the school go through table tennis try outs.

Based on the try outs, he would pick students based on their potential put them under intensive trainings at the school.

As they were growing up, these group of students would go to each other's garage to play table tennis.

The result?

They were a total 12 national table tennis players, all from one street.

That one street had more national table tennis players than he rest of England combined.

Was this pure coincidence? Or was it a result of the environment they grew up in?

I'll let you decide that one.

There are countless other examples where the environment has had a major impact on a person's potential.

Wolfgang Mozart composed his first music at the age of 6.

Many people consider him a child prodigy.

What most people don't realise however is that his father was a renowned music teacher and started teaching Mozart from the age of 3.

By the time he was 6, Mozart several thousand hours of experience under his belt.

Tiger Woods was given his first golf club at the age of 2 and hung around golfers throughout his childhood (thanks to his dad - Earl Woods).

László Polgár built a unique atmosphere at home to bring up all his 3 daughters to become world class chess players.

The list goes on.

All these examples show how the environment and people around you can influence our behaviours on a significant level.

How can we use the principle environment and social design?

Now we all aren't lucky enough to have our parents turn us into child prodigies.

However, we can consciously design our environment to use these principles to our advantage. 

It'll be easier to understand if I share a personal example (outside of the health and fitness field):

Growing up, I was afraid of public speaking.

In fact, a high school teacher once asked me to stop in the middle of my presentation because it was too ‘dry’ for the students.

(You can imagine what that did to my confidence)

However, I knew that if I wanted to pursue my passion to help people in health and fitness, I needed to become an effective public speaker.

The ‘why’ behind my goal was so I was able to share my weight loss message on the public platform.

So what did I decide to do?

I joined a public speaking club called ‘Toastmasters’.

Before joining, I had to make a commitment by becoming a paid member of the club.

I didn’t realise it at the time but this commitment was crucial.

When you pay to become a member of a club, you are obliged to make the most of it and show up to as many sessions as possible.

However, this was a small part of it.

The biggest reason I was able to transform my public speaking skills was because of love and support I got from each person in the club.

Every club meeting, you get to stand and deliver a speech to an audience of 20-30 people.

At the end of your speech, people applaud and cheer like you won’t believe it.

And beyond that, you get constructive feedback from your mentors on how to improve for the next session.

The environment and social design of Toastmasters is what helped me overcome my fear of public speaking.

And not only that, it has given me skills to do some pretty cool stuff.

- Deliver workshops to psychologists, doctors and personal trainers

- Got asked to MC my best friend’s wedding in Bali

- Did a 5-min stand-up for ‘Raw Comedy’ as part of the Melbourne Comedy Festival!

Looking back at it, there were three reasons why Toastmasters was such an effective way to build public speaking skills:

1. Progressive curriculum ​

As part of the membership, you were given access to a public speaking manual. Each session was designed to build on the previous one. 

Your aim for each session was to focus on building one new skill at a time. (i.e. vocal variety, body language, speech structure etc.)

2. Encouraging atmosphere ​

Each session was done in a group environment where everyone encouraged and cheered for each other.

This created a powerful sense of bond and accountability within the group.

3. Mentorship

Each new member was assigned a mentor to help guide them on their journey. I remember how valuable those chats where with my mentor in shaping my journey.

I asked questions when I was stuck and got just the advice I needed for the stage of journey that I was at.

​

How does this all fit in with weight loss?

The above example is from a totally different field – public speaking.

However, what I want you to understand is that it is possible to build any skill under the right environment, guidance and support.

There are several institutions around the globe that incorporate a progressive curriculum, encouraging atmosphere and mentorship.

Examples include Universities.

Sports clubs.

Workplaces.

However, there are not many groups that teach you how to build healthy habits and how to stay on track throughout your weight loss journey.

And it is for that reason that I created Body Knows Best...

Body Knows Best is a mission to create a community of people who have undergone long-term body transformation.

I’d like to invite you to join the tribe.

As part of the tribe, you’ll get case study examples of how people are applying the strategies that we’ve been talking about so far.

And for those who wish to take it a step further, you’ll also get a special link to join the Nutrition Reboot coaching program if you’re a suitable candidate.

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