Our habits are largely a product of our environment. In the 1970s, Canadian psychologist Bruce Alexander conducted his famous Rat Park experiments, which turned the world of addiction on its head. He showed that, unlike previously thought, rats (and humans) only become addicted to destructive habits when their lives are devoid of entertainment and connection, and that addiction was a product of a boring, lonely life.
The environment controls our actions. We see evidence of this in our own saturated environments. According to the American Paediatric Association, childhood obesity has tripled in the past 25 years. One of the main reasons for this is the precipitous rise in fast-food advertisements.
I've doubled my savings rate since my first year in Dubai, and during the stay-at-home restrictions, it tripled
But our environment doesn’t have to harm us. In fact, it can also be arranged in ways to help us, even if it doesn’t seem so at the time. In my home country, the United States, during the most restrictive Covid-19 lockdown, the average savings rate jumped from a measly 4 per cent to a staggering 30 per cent. It makes sense because the world was unable to purchase as much stuff as before, and we didn’t need a lot either when we couldn’t leave our homes. Where we are, physically and digitally, allows us access to certain behaviours, and discourages other behaviours.
The environment can control our behaviour to devastating effect. For instance, 60 per cent of people are overweight or obese in America and this number is rising. Or, even before Covid-19, most Americans couldn’t cover a surprise $400 (Dh1,469) bill.
Anxiety and depression in college age students in the US have doubled in the past eight years, largely from a world saturated with social media, according to a study conducted by psychology professor Jean Twenge at San Diego State University. Their environment is overwhelming their ability to be healthy –physically, mentally and financially.
But we can fight back. Once we understand the importance of environment, we can start to exert control on the world we live in to help fight against harmful actions and promote positive ones.
It’s a three-step process. Determine your values. What do you care about? Look at your environment and see what factors are harming your ability to promote your values and which ones are helping. Start with your top three harmful actions that are promoted by your environment and what factors are influencing those actions. Then focus on the top three actions you want to do to help your values, and which environmental factors are already doing that but could be increased.
I know this works because I’ve done it on multiple occasions. When I moved to Dubai, I was influenced by advertisements on TV and social media, and I saw a lot of people with fancy cars and clothes around me. I had no idea where my money was going, but I knew I was spending a lot of it. So, I started minimising my contact with advertisements by installing an ad blocker on my computer and not watching TV channels with ads.
I started reading more books and getting ad-free apps. I learned about the costs associated with luxury goods, and learned the limited utility of fancy things.
I started tracking my spending and made a budget based on that information and my values. I stopped going to brunches regularly. I moved to a smaller apartment closer to work. I took on more responsibility at work to get raises and learned skills that gave me valuable side hustles. I’ve doubled my savings rate since that first year in Dubai, and during the stay-at-home restrictions, it tripled, as the environment again severely restricted my spending opportunities.
Another way this process has helped me is in my weight and health. For years, I always kept my house loaded with junk food and drinks. I was constantly exposed to thousands of ads for fast food, especially on the radio. When I got serious about my health after a childhood friend died of a heart attack at age 35, the first thing I did was give or throw away all the junk food and unhealthy drinks in my apartment, so that the things at hand were healthy, low calorie and not processed foods.
I stopped listening to the radio and just listened to music through my phone or podcasts, and hit the fast-forward button during ads. I learned about the many damaging effects of fast food on your physical and mental health. I lost 25 kilograms in six months and have kept it off.
But this is not a “once and done” process. Our environment and bad habits are insidious, and they can creep back in without us really being aware. Try to do this process at least once a year. Re-examine your environment, look for ways to eliminate the negative influences in it and promote the good ones – and most importantly –take action. Stay educated and keep working towards living a life in line with your values.
Dubai schoolteacher Zach Holz (@HappiestTeach) documents his journey towards financial independence on his personal finance blog The Happiest Teacher
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
What is the definition of an SME?
SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.
A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors.
UAE squad
Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
NINE WINLESS GAMES
Arsenal 2-2 Crystal Palace (Oct 27, PL)
Liverpool 5-5 Arsenal (Oct 30, EFL)
Arsenal 1-1 Wolves (Nov 02, PL)
Vitoria Guimaraes 1-1 Arsenal (Nov 6, Europa)
Leicester 2-0 Arsenal (Nov 9, PL)
Arsenal 2-2 Southampton (Nov 23, PL)
Arsenal 1-2 Eintracht Frankfurt (Nov 28, Europa)
Norwich 2-2 Arsenal (Dec 01, PL)
Arsenal 1-2 Brighton (Dec 05, PL)
Champion%20v%20Champion%20(PFL%20v%20Bellator)
%3Cp%3EHeavyweight%3A%20Renan%20Ferreira%20v%20Ryan%20Bader%20%3Cbr%3EMiddleweight%3A%20Impa%20Kasanganay%20v%20Johnny%20Eblen%3Cbr%3EFeatherweight%3A%20Jesus%20Pinedo%20v%20Patricio%20Pitbull%3Cbr%3ECatchweight%3A%20Ray%20Cooper%20III%20v%20Jason%20Jackson%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EShowcase%20Bouts%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EHeavyweight%3A%20Bruno%20Cappelozza%20(former%20PFL%20World%20champ)%20v%20Vadim%20Nemkov%20(former%20Bellator%20champ)%3Cbr%3ELight%20Heavyweight%3A%20Thiago%20Santos%20(PFL%20title%20contender)%20v%20Yoel%20Romero%20(Bellator%20title%20contender)%3Cbr%3ELightweight%3A%20Clay%20Collard%20(PFL%20title%20contender)%20v%20AJ%20McKee%20(former%20Bellator%20champ)%3Cbr%3EFeatherweight%3A%20Gabriel%20Braga%20(PFL%20title%20contender)%20v%20Aaron%20Pico%20(Bellator%20title%20contender)%3Cbr%3ELightweight%3A%20Biaggio%20Ali%20Walsh%20(pro%20debut)%20v%20Emmanuel%20Palacios%20(pro%20debut)%3Cbr%3EWomen%E2%80%99s%20Lightweight%3A%20Claressa%20Shields%20v%20Kelsey%20DeSantis%3Cbr%3EFeatherweight%3A%20Abdullah%20Al%20Qahtani%20v%20Edukondal%20Rao%3Cbr%3EAmateur%20Flyweight%3A%20Malik%20Basahel%20v%20Vinicius%20Pereira%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
Personalities on the Plate: The Lives and Minds of Animals We Eat
Barbara J King, University of Chicago Press
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine 60kwh FWD
Battery Rimac 120kwh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) chemistry
Power 204hp Torque 360Nm
Price, base / as tested Dh174,500
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The biog
Siblings: five brothers and one sister
Education: Bachelors in Political Science at the University of Minnesota
Interests: Swimming, tennis and the gym
Favourite place: UAE
Favourite packet food on the trip: pasta primavera
What he did to pass the time during the trip: listen to audio books
