The Lawyer’s Well-Being Brief. . .Change Your Environment, Change Your Outcomes: What DeMarcus Lawrence Teaches Us About Well-Being

“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.”-Joseph Campbell

Welcome (back) to the Lawyer’s Well-Being Brief! Each week, I share insights and practical strategies to help us cultivate well-being and thrive — both personally and professionally. Live well! Lawyer well!

Success is rarely just about talent. It’s about environment.

When DeMarcus Lawrence made the decision to change his environment in pursuit of a championship, it wasn’t an admission of failure. It was an acknowledgment of a powerful truth: sometimes growth requires a new setting. A new culture. A new standard. A new energy.

Championship teams are not built on ability alone. They are built on expectation, accountability, shared belief, and daily habits that reinforce excellence. By stepping into a new environment aligned with winning, Lawrence placed himself inside a system designed for success.

And that lesson applies far beyond football.

Environment Shapes Identity

We often think willpower is the key to transformation. But environment quietly shapes behavior more than motivation ever will.

• If you are surrounded by people who prioritize growth, you grow.

• If you are in a culture that normalizes discipline, discipline becomes easier.

• If your physical space encourages movement, focus, or rest, your body follows.

Your environment is constantly influencing your thoughts, actions, and standards — whether you realize it or not.

Lawrence didn’t just change teams. He changed expectations. He placed himself in a locker room where winning wasn’t a hope — it was the standard. That shift in environment naturally pulls performance upward.

The Well-Being Connection

The same principle applies to our personal well-being.

If we want to improve our:

• Movement and recovery, we may need to change where and with whom we train.

• Sleep, we may need to redesign our nighttime environment.

• Nutrition, we may need to change what’s in our kitchen.

• Mindset, we may need to adjust who we listen to daily.

• Connection, we may need to be intentional about who we spend time with.

We often try to “power through” unhealthy environments instead of redesigning them.

But what if the breakthrough isn’t more effort? What if it’s a better environment?

Audit Your Surroundings

Take an honest inventory:

• Does your workplace elevate your standards or drain your energy?

• Do your daily conversations reinforce possibility or limitation?

• Does your physical space support your goals?

• Do the people around you challenge you to improve?

Environment either pulls you forward or quietly holds you in place.

You Don’t Need a Trade — You Need a Shift

Not everyone needs to make a dramatic life change. Sometimes the shift is subtle:

• Joining a new professional group.

• Rearranging your workspace.

• Training with someone who pushes you.

• Removing distractions.

• Setting clearer boundaries.

Small environmental upgrades create large behavioral changes.

Championships — in sports or in life — are rarely accidental. They are built within ecosystems that demand excellence.

DeMarcus Lawrence understood something powerful: when you align yourself with the right environment, success becomes more likely — not because you changed who you are, but because you placed yourself where your best self could emerge.

Our environment is either reinforcing our current ceiling or raising it.

Choose wisely. Because when we change our environment, we change our trajectory.

Forward Always!