I bought some almonds over the weekend. I especially like those Wasabi Soy Sauce almonds from Blue Diamond, so I bought a jar. Not a big deal, just a little snack.
Except that I did something unusual with this jar of almonds. I left them out on my counter—right in front of where I like to write.
And guess what? I can’t stop eating them. Every time I look up from my computer, there they are. So I walk over to grab a few… every couple sentences. I’ve gone months without eating almonds, but now, all of a sudden, I can’t seem to stop.
I see them and I want them—almost intuitively.
This is not a phenomenon unique to me (or almonds).
In fact, there is a lot of research supporting this hypothesis that the visuals in our environment impact our behavior.
The things we see affect our habits.
Here is some of the research:
- What’s on your countertop might predict your weight
- For some, out-of-sight cigarettes really might be out of mind
- Want to Change Your Habits? Change Your Environment
- How YouTube is Addictive — Recommendation Systems & its Impacts
From food and cigarettes to work and social media, the items in our field of vision influence us—every minute of every day.
Of course, in this reality of human nature, there is opportunity.
If we change our visuals, we can change our habits.
Changing our environment is one of the easiest and most significant steps we can take to change our habits.
Want to eat less junk food? Remove it from your pantry and your countertop.
Want to watch less television? Remove your large screen from your living room or bedroom.
Want to play fewer video games? Remove your console.
Want to waste less time on your phone? Remove your time-wasting apps. Or better yet, put your phone away in a drawer when you get home.
Want to shop less? Unsubscribe from email newsletters or throw away junk mail before it enters your home.
Want to be less distracted at work? Remove those physical objects that are the cause of distraction.
Want to spend less money eating out? Take a different route home—away from all the restaurants.
From home and office to the work that we do, the physical items around us have a significant impact on habits. Remove those that do not contribute to your best life.
Does removing items from our field of vision solve all our problems and immediately result in a more disciplined, meaningful life? Of course not.
We still need to replace unhealthy habits with healthy habits. But this can also be accomplished by placing healthy visuals in front of us.
Life change is never easy. But there are some steps we can take to bring it about easier.
Changing our visuals is one of them.
Now, excuse me, while I go grab another almond.
About Joshua Becker
Aha, just occurred to me why I eat so much toast… toaster on countertop. PUTTING IT AWAY!
Deleting apps from my phone was so helpful. I removed news apps, shopping apps, and social media from my phone. I can still access the information on my computer but creating friction to these sites has been life-changing. I doubt I’ll ever add social media back to my phone. A weight was lifted. I love all the examples for changing your visual to change your behavior.
i experimented rearranging some furniture and also some outdoor spaces… new vignettes with planters & patio furniture in unexpected ways. HOLY COW what a mood booster it all is everytime i view it and can’t believe i didn’t do it before. rut busting is going to be an ongoing thing round my place…
i rearranged something furniture and some outdoor spaces & planters. holy cow what a mood booster! now i’m
on the hunt for more ideas ‘round the casa.
I had the same problem, but my wife of 58 years has a sweet tooth that she enjoys. I tried since 1/1/2020 to lose 15 pounds and leveled off at an 8 pound loss and couldn’t go any further. Then a piece on NPR about a woman who successfully quit smoking inspired me. Her habit and solution weren’t exactly mine, but here’s what I did.
I promised myself that if I had just one York Patty, Oreo, or serving of Colombian coffee ice cream (all downfalls of mine), I would donate $10 each time to — not one of my favorite charities, but to the election campaign of the person who, if he wins in November, will want me to leave the country. (I won’t tell you which candidate.)
So guess what? The first week I lost 3 pounds, and broke the barrier. And after a week, I’m no longer even tempted by the sweets. Just the thought of ‘that’ guy winning the election makes me lose my appetite.
That is the best motivation EVER! I absolutely LOVE it!!!!!
Thanks! Loved excusing you while you got another almond…recognizing our weakness or tendencies helps us to realize what needs changed to make improvements in our life. It gives us traction to take steps forward.
Blessings, Joshua, as you continue to teach us ways to live with purpose and less stuff to clutter our lives.
Thank you, Joshua! Excellent post worth thought, decision and life change!
Thank you, Joshua, for another insightful article. You are a blessing in our lives.
I wholeheartedly agree. Thank you Joshua.
I feel like there’s a part 2 on this topic; the impact of social interactions. To me, 50% is changing the visual queues, 50% is changing the social pressures. We are social creatures and whether we like it or not, we’re copycats.
You may have to change who you spend time with. You may have to change who you follow or your utilization of social media. You may even have to change your job, social clubs, religious affiliations, etc.
Lol—- I think we were separated at birth! So true. I love licorice—- but I rarely buy it… I am not that person that can have 1 or 2 pieces.
I wish I could unsubscribe to most of the emails I get. It seems that every time I “unsubscribe,” I get 5 new and different solicitors! Ugh!
If you live in America you can use a wonderful Application called UnrollMe (I think it’s spelled like that) they will roll up all the subscription emails you Do want in one email daily for you, they will unsubscribe from others and you never have to see them again. It’s incredibly easy to use. Now I live in France and because of all these new privacy settings we cannot have it in Europe. I could weep!
Ooh, thanks for the recommendation. I’m going to try that. I am so sick of too many ad emails.
No kidding, I was eating almonds while I read this. I only had them because I saw the bag of mixed raw nuts out on the table as I walked through the kitchen. I don’t even like almonds; I eat them as the leftover nuts from the mix. Thanks for the perspective.
Nice and practical tips. Just get away from distraction no need to test our will. I liked the you tube example that recommendation system can suck away 50 min or hours on end without knowing it.