How Our Environment Shapes Behavior Change Through Self-Awareness and Context

Changing behavior is never easy. Many leaders set resolutions or goals to improve habits, but often find themselves stuck or slipping back into old patterns. One key reason is the environment around us, which can either support or block our efforts to change. Marshall Goldsmith’s book Triggers offers valuable insights into how our surroundings influence behavior and how self-awareness combined with context can help us build positive habits that last.

A clean, well-lit workspace with plants that supports focus and positive habits

The Role of Environment in Behavior Change

Our environment shapes our actions more than we often realize. It includes physical spaces, social settings, and even the routines we follow daily. For example, a cluttered desk can distract us from focusing, while a gym near home makes it easier to exercise regularly. Goldsmith emphasizes that triggers in our environment prompt behaviors, often unconsciously.

When trying to adopt new habits or stick to resolutions, the environment can either help or hinder progress. If your goal is to eat healthier, but your kitchen is stocked with junk food, the environment is working against you. On the other hand, placing fruits and vegetables in visible spots makes healthy choices easier.

This connection between environment and behavior means that coaching for behavior change should include strategies to adjust surroundings. Changing the context can reduce friction and increase the chances of success.

How Self-Awareness Works with Context

Self-awareness is the ability to recognize your thoughts, feelings, and actions in the moment. Goldsmith points out that without self-awareness, it’s difficult to notice how your environment triggers certain behaviors. For example, you might not realize that stress at work leads you to snack mindlessly or procrastinate.

By increasing self-awareness, you can identify specific triggers and decide how to respond differently. This awareness creates a pause between stimulus and reaction, opening space for choice rather than automatic behavior.

Combining self-awareness with an understanding of context means you can:

• Spot environmental cues that lead to unwanted habits

• Modify your surroundings to support positive behaviors

• Use coaching techniques to reinforce awareness and accountability

  
  

For instance, a manager who wants to improve time management might notice that constant email notifications disrupt focus. Becoming aware of this trigger allows them to turn off alerts during deep work periods, changing the context to support better habits.

Practical Steps to Use Environment and Self-Awareness for Behavior Change

Here are some actionable ways to apply these ideas in your professional and personal life:

1. Identify Your Triggers

Keep a journal or use an app to track when you fall into old habits or struggle with resolutions. Note what’s happening around you and how you feel. This builds self-awareness and reveals environmental patterns.

2. Adjust Your Physical Space

Make small changes to your workspace or home that encourage desired behaviors. Examples include:

• Keeping water on your desk to drink more

• Removing distractions like unnecessary gadgets

• Organizing tools and materials for easy access

  
  

3. Create Social Support

Surround yourself with people who encourage your goals. This might mean joining a coaching group, finding an accountability partner, or simply sharing your intentions with colleagues.

4. Use Reminders and Visual Cues

Place notes or objects in your environment that remind you of your goals. For example, a sticky note on your computer screen can prompt you to take breaks or practice mindfulness.

5. Practice Mindful Reflection

Set aside time daily or weekly to reflect on your behavior and environment. Ask yourself what worked, what didn’t, and what changes you can make.

A journal open on a wooden desk with a pen and coffee, symbolizing reflection and self-awareness

Why Coaching Matters in This Process

Coaching plays a crucial role in helping professionals develop self-awareness and navigate environmental challenges. A coach can provide objective feedback, help identify hidden triggers, and support the design of new contexts that foster positive habits.

Unlike self-help methods that rely solely on willpower, coaching offers personalized guidance and accountability. This increases the likelihood of sustaining behavior change beyond initial resolutions.

Real-World Example

Consider a senior manager who wants to improve communication with their team. They notice that after long meetings, they tend to avoid follow-up conversations, which slows progress. Through coaching, they become aware that fatigue and a noisy office environment trigger this avoidance.

Together with their coach, they create a new habit of scheduling short one-on-one check-ins in a quiet room. They also set reminders to prepare key points before meetings. Changing the environment and increasing self-awareness helps them build a habit that improves team collaboration.

Final Thoughts

Changing behavior doesn't require a sudden, massive leap of willpower; it requires intentional design.

As Marshall Goldsmith teaches, our environment is constantly sending us "triggers" that shape our actions. The good news is that we don't have to be passive recipients of these external forces. By coupling genuine self-awareness—the ability to catch ourselves in the moment—with the strategic modification of our context, we move from reacting to choosing.

The most effective habit builders understand this simple truth: Make the desirable behavior easy, and the undesirable behavior difficult.

Start small. Identify just one powerful trigger and one small change you can make to your environment today. Whether you are tackling professional goals like productivity or personal resolutions like fitness, remember that sustainable change is a function of aligning your inner intention with your outer world. The greatest advantage you can give yourself is a supporting environment.

Choose your context, and your context will help choose your success.

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Would you like to work with a coach who can help you create self-awareness and context discernment so you can be a better leader? Write to us at info@peoplecompass.in or click here and we will get back to you!