On Habit Essay

1347 Words6 Pages
Mindset and the Environment It is said that our surroundings greatly affect our mindset as well as the way we live. In the essay “On Habit”, written by Alain de Botton, the idea we are in control of our lives is questioned and new ideas are introduced. It seems that people are capable of completely evolving in life simply through changing their outlooks. Although a person’s environment may have an impression on who they become, the important thing lies in the way they perceive it. Appreciation for the smaller things in life allows one to make the best out of a bad situation. An appreciation of these things may be vulnerable to the influence of one’s mood. This becomes apparent to Alain de Botton when he states, “When we are in a good mood and it is sunny, it is tempting to impute a connection between what happens inside and outside of us, but the appearance of London on my return was a reminder of the indifference of the world to any of the events unfolding in the lives of its inhabitants” (59). There is a common misconception that the external environment can affect one’s internal mood ones, though it is moderately the opposite happening: mood affects how we perceive the weather; however, that is not the case. The environment can play a major role in one’s mood, but in another aspect; a person’s temper is a factor in how they perceive the weather. A man’s state of mind is vital to his perception of the world. The weather may have a crucial impact on someone’s emotions. Because of this de Botton questioned if the idea that someone’s perception is vital to perceive the world correctly was in fact plausible. You can use the weather as an example, it is impossible to fully appreciate the radiant beautiful sunlight in a time of emotional despair or to be brought down by depressing gray clouds and a downpour of rain in a time a pure happiness and bliss. This idea that
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