I won’t argue that we bring ourselves with us no matter where we go, but doesn’t our environment shape our decisions, behavior, and judgments? Even our perception of reality is skewed depending on the environment we are in.
If you were at a rock concert, and you saw a guy get on stage, face the crowd, then dive in, you’d probably guess with certain conviction that he’s stage diving. However, if you saw a guy get on stage at a Toastmasters convention, face the crowd, then dive in, you’d probably perceive him to be psychologically impaired somehow.
Well, I guess you might think that the people in both examples could be psychologically impaired, but you get the point. We judge one situation differently than we judge another. We are, in a sense, different people depending on our environment. Our perceptions are different, our reactions are different, and the way we respond will be unique to what’s happening around us.
Sure, it could be argued that who we are at our core doesn’t change, regardless of the environment (which is what the original saying has us believe), but I’d disagree with that. Our values, our beliefs, and behavior does change depending on our environment.
When your environment changes, everything that influences you changes. Also, your perception and judgments change. Everything you experience will be related to the environment you are in, making your reality, and your responses to that reality different.
Being in a new environment allows you to meet new people with different insights. You’ll generate new ideas, new ways to accomplish things. You’ll manifest new hopes and dreams. Your values and beliefs may change.
Sometimes, it takes moving yourself out of where you are to see everything differently, and become a different person, to get to where you want to be. You don’t want to be plagued with the thought: “No matter where you go, there you are.” when you are not happy where you are!
“Well, that sucks. I guess I will feel bland no matter where I go.”
When you feel the need to start all over again, perhaps in a different job, a different relationship, a different city, or even a different country, remember that ‘Wherever you leave, there you left‘ applies more than anything.
Maybe if you’re reading this, and you realize that where you are is not where you want to be, you’ll leave yourself behind, while you change your world.
