We find ourselves both “pilot” and “passenger” in an ancient animal we have come to identify as “ourselves.”  An animal evolved from the unknowing into a thing of knowing.  

An animal controlled through unconscious mechanisms beyond our understanding and yet also seemingly controlled by conscious thought.  

Whether we are greater part “pilot” or greater part “passenger” is of small consequence, because in the end we are wholly determined by our environment.  

The “environment,” in this sense, meaning the world we find ourselves in physically and socially.

If we remain in an environment full of the vices we wish to rid ourselves of then we risk defeat before beginning.

In spite of the popularity of the phrase, no one has ever pulled themselves up by their own “boot straps.” It is a physically impossible idea and was originally used as a way of expressing an absurd idea, like being able to pull yourself out a swamp by pulling on your own hair. Nonetheless, the idea of being completely self-reliant and being able to force change by the sheer strength of ones willpower is an alluring, if absurd idea. Rather than settling for a doomed approach simply because it sounds alluring and impowering, I would suggest our efforts are best invested in a tried and true startegy.

If we have any ability to effect change, it will be at the root of our reality that we will find our greatest leverage. Our greatest hope for lasting change is in changing our environment.

If we ignore our environment, we ignore the elephant in the room.  Attempting to change the nature of ourselves by sheer willpower is like attempting to change a “tree” by plucking at its fruits and flowers. Any change effected in this way is often merely cosmetic and fleeting.

Superficial pruning is lost in the next season and even significant pruning is grown over in time.

Lasting change is best made by changing one’s environment.

Maybe that means surrounding yourself with an environment that is NOT FULL of the vices you are trying to rid yourself of. Only you know what those vices are… list them in your mind now and consider how you might eliminate them from your environment. If the vice you want to rid yourself of is non-existent in your new environement then you need not worry about whether you are the pilot responsible for navigating around the vice or the passenger along for the ride.

Maybe having surrounded yourself with a more “vice-free” environement you won’t even need the boots (or the false security of “willpower). If your environment is free of the “trash and rubbish” you are trying to free yourself from then maybe you can run barefoot without concern and embrace your journey as both pilot and passenger in this wonderful animal that is you.