by Len Morse

Created on: May 30, 2007   Last Updated: May 21, 2009

Ultimately, we are products of both our environment and our own actions - it's a question of which has more control. As children, our actions are usually determined by the environment (parents, schools, etc.), but as adults, most of us have learned to work within our personal circumstances to create desired outcomes.

Our environment (the physical, intellectual, and emotional stimuli that constantly surround us) determines most of our life experiences when we are young and helpless, but when we grow older and wiser, and learn to make decisions on our own, our destiny is more in our own hands.

== Environment Types ==

In the context of being a controlling force, environment can have many definitions. Consider the follow classifications:

- Physical surroundings affect our senses. Most of us can hear a concert, taste a sandwich, smell a cigar, see a painting, or touch a cactus, and each of these sensations usually produces a good or bad feeling, plus we gain a measure of knowledge about our preferences. As we grow older, we retain these experiences in our memories, to affect our reactions later in life.

- Mental or intellectual input affects our education. Formal schooling begins early in life and continues for about 17 years, sometimes more - depending on personal, societal, and financial expectations and desires. Parents, teachers, and friends help expand our general knowledge, and may even inspire a thirst for more specialized information.

- Emotional stimuli affect our attitudes. From intimate relationships to exciting travels to frustrating commutes to vivid dreams, uncountable life experiences bring us the joys, sorrows, and thousands of other emotions that many say make life worth living. Some of these situations are under our control and some are not, but all help make us the expressive creatures we are.

== Environmental Control ==

This subtitle does not refer to just natural environment, but to the many personal environments outlined above. The physical, intellectual, and emotional changes that we deal with daily can bring good or bad results, and can be extreme, moderate, or trivial in their intensity. It is up to us as individuals to act/react accordingly in order to create the best situations for ourselves.

For the most part, you can turn your environment to your favor without unpleasant consequences: If it's raining, you can open an umbrella or seek shelter; if you learn what hot dogs are made of, you can avoid them

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>