Ever notice how some people seem to grow almost effortlessly? As if life keeps handing them a tailwind while others push a stubborn bicycle uphill in the Cape Doctor wind… barefoot?
The difference is rarely discipline or intelligence.
More often, it’s environment – the invisible ecosystem you place yourself in.
We humans love effort. “Try harder.” “Push more.” “Grind.”
But effort is only the fertilizer. The soil still decides what actually grows.
🌱 Soil – the environment you choose
Some environments nourish you. Others drain you like vampires. A person who places themselves among optimists, doers, and possibility-minded people suddenly grows in unexpected directions.
A fun fact:
A bonsai tree and a forest giant are the same species.
The difference is simply the environment. Same potential – different outcome. Humans follow the same rule.
☀️ Sunlight – the ideas you expose yourself to
Ideas are oxygen for your mind.
Expose yourself to different thinking and your inner “thermostat” rises – you act differently, choose differently, see differently. Small ideas shrink you. Expansive ideas stretch you.
🌳 Roots – the identity you grow into
Plants don’t try to grow roots. They grow because that’s their nature. Humans, when aligned with the right environment and ideas, do the same. Self-image expands → behaviour follows → results change.
Growth becomes less about forcing…and more about allowing.
A question for your weekend walk
Where in your life are you acting like a gardener who keeps pouring water…when what you really need is new soil?
Because growth isn’t a mystery. It’s alignment. Change the environment – and suddenly the effort works.