At age four, I started attending pre-school at the high school my mom taught at. Pre-school only lasted half a day, and so, every afternoon I found myself hanging out with her high school students.
I had the unique experience of growing up around the influence of high school students and, therefore, had the unique experience of learning certain things far younger than kids probably should.
At age five, a sophomore named Kenny convinced me to jump my bike off a hill near the school into the concrete parking lot. I earned some scars and some respect from that jump.
At age six, a class of them bet me $1 to eat some sheep droppings. I earned one dollar and a vaccination for that date.
At age eight, a group of upperclassmen taught me how to ask my crush, Lacey, "Do you like hot foods?" in Spanish. I learned later that whatever I said to Lacey had nothing to do with food. I earned a slap and public talking to from that pickup line.
At age ten, my mom received a call from my fourth grade teacher letting her know I had said something wildly inappropriate to a fourth grader and had to be taken home for the day. I earned an early ride home and a week of my brother's chores for the use of that word.
On the ride home, probably reflecting on my now long list of childhood offenses, my Mom looked at me bewildered and disappointed and said, "Jason, this isn't you. Where are you learning this stuff?"
At the time, I just shrugged, but looking back, I know what my problem was.
Last week I was listening to a podcast about the unfortunate airplane crash in D.C. on January 29th of this year, I learned when events like this occur, federal investigators examine three primary causes of the problem: humans, the environment, and machines.
Humans, the environment, and machines can be blamed for the majority of our problems as well.
On that car ride home with my mom, I knew that my environment was the blame for the problems I'd created in my life. Being a single mother of four for the majority of my childhood, my mom just didn't have the bandwidth to consider if being surrounded by high-schoolers was the proper environment for her already wild and somewhat reckless son.
My innate nature to entertain others combined with the potential the high-schoolers saw for hilarity created some real problems for me and those that became the butt of the joke.
Being that I was ten, I had adults looking out for me and I'm grateful that after some evaluation from those adults, my environment was shifted and I started making better decisions.
Being that you are (probably) not ten, it's your responsibility to evaluate the human, environmental, and machine factors in your life and the relationships they have to your current problems.
Can't seem to maintain a regular exercise habit? Consider the human factor by spending more time with people that do exercise and less time with people that don't exercise.
Eating too much fast food or spending beyond your means? Change your environment by taking a different route home.
Trouble making friends or maintaining meaningful relationships? Reflect on your relationship with time machines and reduce your screen time.
Too often we accept problems as unchangeable parts of our life. In reality, they can be sourced from human, environmental, or machine causes. Changing one can radically change our lives.
Fact
Human error has been identified as a factor in two-thirds to three-fourths of recent aviation accidents and incidents, including several recent high-profile cases.
Action
Look at your screen time usage on your phone. Write down one thing you could have been doing during that time.
Question
What environment do you need to spend less time in?
Quote
"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used to create them."
-Albert Einstein
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