Your environment is everything

Last week, I returned to Naples, Italy for a brief visit. Naples is my hometown, so I'm bound to go back every now and then to see family and friends, and indulge in its unparalleled cuisine. These trips, however, have become increasingly infrequent over the years as I've found myself wanting to go back less and less over time.

There was a time when my friends joked that I spent more time in Naples than in the UK. Now, it’s quite the opposite: I visit only once every few months, and my latest trip only reinforced my conviction that this new pattern serves me best.

The reasons for this shift are manifold, but chief among them is the palpable increase in stress that seems to have gripped the city over the decade I've been away.

I can see it in people's faces as I walk down the street; they seem unconsciously irritated and angry, probably because of the environment they're stuck in. Heavy traffic, closed-mindedness, and a culture based on criticising each other certainly played a big role in this.

It's astonishing how problems that might seem trivial elsewhere can appear insurmountable to some people, purely due to cultural factors. This is exactly what I experience every time I go back: systems and behaviours that are perfectly normal in other cities of the world are needlessly distorted and compressed into convoluted challenges in Naples. It's hard to explain, and probably only who lived there will be able to fully understand what I mean. I often find myself wondering what trajectory my life would have taken had I not made the decision to move to London in 2015.

While I respect that different lifestyles might suit some people best, I've learned that if you truly want to transform your circumstances, changing your environment is a necessary step. Any ardent supporter of my city will likely take issue with this, and that's perfectly fine, but as much as one can grow personally and professionally in Naples and still manage to make a difference, it simply isn't the place to be – at least, not for me.

I came to the realisation that my experience in Naples and London is an important life lesson: the setting in which we live and work shapes us in ways we might not always recognise, but which are undeniably powerful.

I hope this will inspire you to reflect on how your surroundings shape your own story.