I have always been deeply intrigued to learn about my environment.

I believe that it is extremely important to do.

It can benefit you greatly in some circumstances. it may even keep you from danger.

The environment you are in changes constantly throughout the day. Unless you stay in the same exact spot for 24 hours… Even then there may be a change in environment.

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When I was in the Army I was taught to conduct reconnaissance and security patrols “R&S Patrols”. We would stop and take a knee or get prone and STOP, LOOK, LISTEN and SMELL for 5 minutes. This allowed us to get used to our environment. We were able to be more aware of our surroundings to detect any possible intelligence or threat around us in that area.

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When you go somewhere new, there are a lot of things that could be going on that you can learn from. Everything from specific types of Fungi growing on a rock, stump, tree, etc. to types of Insects and Bugs in that area. Sounds of the animals in the woods at night. Clothing selection of the people around you. Accessories other individuals are wearing if any. The temperature in the room, lighting. What kind of background noise do you have? What is the attitude of the other people in the room or area if any? What are people eating and/or drinking? What type of body language do others have? What are others saying? What is the smell?

These are just a few bits of information that you can gather very quickly.

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I found benefit monetarily by absorbing my environment while doing sales in potential customers or current customers homes. I was able to quickly gain rapport and learned more about the prospect than they could ever have thought possible. It also benefited me during my inspections because I was able to find very small evidence of large issues. This not only saved the prospect/customer from huge issues but also, I would tend to win the sale.

The other day I was sitting at a Chili’s by myself to just chill and eat some chips and salsa and have a beer.

An older man sat down to my right and didn’t say a word. He just looked around or up at one of the TV’s. The bartender went up to him and asked, “would you like another beer?”. He replied, “sure”. I saw her go over and start to pour a Yuengling. After he got his beer I said, you must be from the northeast. (We were near Charlotte, NC) He said “yes, I’m from Pennsylvania. I also tend to see the trend of The Grateful Dead.

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At one point I would sit out on a porch in the woods and converse with others on multiple occasions. I would hear the frogs speaking to each other in the pond down the hill. I am unsure why, but it always made me want to understand more about what their sounds can teach me about what is in their area. How much do they know about their envi0rnment that I cannot see? What can I hear that they can tell me?

Sit and look around, take in whatever is going on around you. Try to understand everything you can about it.

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You may learn something new.