Expectation Anchors

We base our expectations on what we see around us.

If everyone we knew woke up at 5am to go the gym, it would only be a matter of time before we started doing it.

People are often successful in groups. The ‘Paypal mafia’ have been successful beyond that accounted for only by talent. They grew together, and each became able to change technology for good. “You are the product of the five people you hang out with most.”

Everyone becomes a product of their environment, although we have a degree of control over the environment we’re in.

Today, with the internet and increased social mobility, we have greater control over our environment. We can decide which tribes we join and what type of information and people we expose ourselves to on the internet.

It’s easy to hold artificial limitations in our mind based on what we see around us. “I could never do that”, we may say. But sometimes that mentality is something we picked up from society and isn’t grounded in objective truth.

There are people who will change what we think is possible. Don’t wait for a chance meeting with them — go out and find them.

Originally published at Chris Lovejoy.