Make Your Environment More "Sunny"

While I am a big fan of making small changes to your environment to get better results, this statistic raised my definition of small to a whole new level. Uri Simonsohn of The Wharton School conducted a study and found that a 1 standard deviation in cloud cover would increase a student's likelihood of attending an elite school by nine percent. His reasoning is that cloudy weather makes academic activities more appealing and increases the desire to attend an academically challenging university.

How's that for something small making a BIG difference?

Environment, Environment, Environment!

Here's a news flash for you-A study out of Belgium found that if male teenagers increased their viewing of TV shows or movies with car chases or high degrees of action, they were more likely to engage in risky driving when they got behind the wheel.

We could interchange the words to include almost any poor habit. Spend time around coworkers who are frequently distracted from their work, and your tendency will be to do the same. Engage in conversations that are less than positive about someone else, and you will find yourself doing it more often by your own choosing. The environment in which we live and work has an incredible impact on our actions.

The plant world reinforces this fact. You simply can't grow certain things in certain environments. Specific conditions have to be present for the plant to achieve its greatest potential.

If you are currently struggling with accomplish a project at work or simply build a stronger relationship with your spouse, ask yourself one question: Have I created the right environment for success? If the answer is "yes" then maybe you need to check your source of motivation-or lack therof. If the answer is "no" then take some steps to create a better environment for success.

You may look impressive working so hard, but what are you really moving forward in your work and life?