Environment Is Everything: Building a Space That Inspires and Uplifts
When I first transitioned from working a 9-5 in the office to running my business from home, the shift was extreme. It’s not like I hadn’t been warned either. I had heard everything from how hard it was to work from home to how some people succumbed to alcoholism because of the lack of structure. That’s when I really started to consider how important physical space is. Our environment has the ability to build us up or to create a mountain of resistance. The bad news is that our environment can creep up on us and leave us unsuspecting of its negative effects, but, the good news is that even small changes can transform our space and us along with it. Changing an environment for the better starts with awareness Does everything have to start with introspection? I’ve found the answer to that to be an exhausting but resounding ‘yes, yes it does.’ Environments are no different. Spaces can feel nourishing or draining and the difference is entirely subjective. I’ve found that when I’m paying attention, I can tell when an environment is unsuited for me because I start to feel drowsy.Tapping into that self-awareness has helped me take my own energy intuition more seriously and actually do something about it much faster. What has my mind associated with this space?It turned out that my main issue with working from home was that my mind had associated home with comfort and relaxation. Oh, and all my vices were just a few feet away (I’m looking at you TV, wine and backyard patio set).Home just wasn’t categorized with work, and my mind insisted it wasn’t going to budge. So we negotiated. We dedicated set parameters for work (time and a specific room). We decided on some rules (restricting the number of trips to the fridge but having free reign on tea consumption). We designed the space to feel like an office by adding helpful things, and taking away distractions.In sight, in mind Psychology tells us that if we can make something even just a little bit harder (like taking the batteries out of a remote, for example), we become far less likely to follow through (in this case, watching TV). Naturally, I’ve found that the opposite is true, too. Back when I moved into my first home, my intention was that it was the beginning of a brand new chapter of growth. So, when I decorated, I let that intention come through in everything I chose as well as everything I didn’t choose. I made a mental list of everything the best version of me would do: I would read more, I would be disciplined in my work ethic, I would work out every day, I would have a morning ritual. So, I added two shelves of books in my living room, started a tally on my calendar to track my workouts, kept my journal and tea within arm’s reach of where I would start my morning routine and wrote affirmations in places I would see often. Every one of these things became conscious and subconscious reminders of who I wanted to be, and by integrating them into my everyday environment, the space began to serve me. Ambiance? Or strategic design?As a Muralist by profession, I think a lot about how to makespaces better. And what I’ve discovered is that sometimes the biggesttransformations can happen through small, practical changes. When designing my own spaces, I thought long and hard about what areas of my home would be ‘productive’ spaces and which would be ‘relaxing.’ In the productive spaces I installed white lights, a quick and easy change of light bulbs that drastically changed how energised I felt. In the relaxing spaces, I left the builder installed lights- standard bulbs with a yellow-ish hue that were easy on the eyes.Another way I drastically changed my environment was by leveraging a bit of colour psychology- something I picked up when I started to merge my educational background with my chosen business as an artist. Our energy is affected by what we see. Certain colours set the tone for how we feel in an environment, that’s why businesses think so hard about them. And in my opinion, we all should. Personally, I’ve integrated a lot of yellows and blues into my home and work spaces. These colors are also among my go-to's for my public murals for some of the same reasons: Yellow signals energy, attention and happiness to our brains. We are drawn to it. Blue is calm and soothing. So, it makes for a beautiful residential addition- whether it’s as an accent wall or scattered through decorations. Questions to consciously build a better spaceOverall, I’ve found that a shift in environment can positively affect the mind, body and spirit. We put time into carefully considering our health, our careers, our finances- why not put some time into the spaces we spend the most time in?So, I leave you with a few questions to get you started on your journey to create an environment that inspires and uplifts: What is the purpose of this space? (Is it for work? For play?) How do you want to show up to this space? (Imagine you are your best self. What are you doing? How are you interacting with your space?) What things can you replace that will remind you of who you want to be? (Time to swap out the TV for a library? The alcohol pantry with a smoothie bar?) What brings you joy? (Plants? Specific colours? Little artworks that have motivating quotes?) Start with these. You might just find that sometimes change can start from the outside in. - Jasmin PannuI think it's important to share our stories. It's how we can grow and help others. That's why I write about all of my lessons learnt and yet-to-be learned here. More inspiring articles:Why I Make Every Big Life Decision Without Telling Family or FriendsWhen ‘Fake It Till You Make It’ Works…and When It Doesn’tWhy Is Ghosting Happening To You And What You Can Do To Avoid It5 Brain Hacks to Build Back Confidence If People Haven’t Been Treating You WellHow To Tell if Your Expectations Are Too High For a Relationship
Why I Make Every Big Life Decision Without Telling Family or Friends
When I was younger I used to have this fear that underlined everything I did or said: it wasn’t good enough, I wasn’t good enough. Starting in high school, I began to combat that destructive mental narrative. When I started to speak up in class I soon realized I wasn’t inferior, I was capable. After some years of climbing the self-esteem ladder, I went from looking for self-assurance from everyone but myself to consulting nobody but myself. And let me tell you, I have never looked back. Leaning into self-reliance and intuition for life decisions For almost a decade now, I’ve made pretty much every life decision before telling family, friends or even partners. These decisions have ranged from buying a house to changing companies and outright leaving corporate to start my own business. In fact, I’ve found that the bigger the decision, the more reluctant I’ve been to share it. I realize now, all these years later, that by challenging my mental narrative of not being capable, I’ve learned to build a great deal of self-reliance and honed in on my intuition. It’s truly been a blessing to not only feel but to truly have lived by the thought that I’m best equipped to navigate my life. And sometimes, when I want to build on that feeling, I use this affirmation:Everything I need is already inside of me.This affirmation helps me stand in the power of who I am and to avoid soliciting others’ opinions in times of baseless self-doubt. Protecting my energy by protecting my choicesI now know this technique of staying quiet about decisions until after execution to be a form of energy mastery. By cutting the noise ofoutside opinions, I am less vulnerable to being swayed by the opinions andpersonal experiences of others. This is especially important before a decisionis made, because that’s when the idea is most susceptible. Often, the cost of having adecision influenced by others is, at a minimum, internal turmoil, and at itsworse, lack of action altogether. And as someone who wants tolive a rich and deliberate life, I just can’t risk that.Experiencing life for myself I can be an over-thinker, so when an off-hand comment is made, I can literally spend days interpreting its meaning. Outside of that, I’m also acutely aware (or try to be, anyway) of the weight of my conditioning. Social and familial conditioning is something I’ve spent years unlearning so I can build a mindset closer to my authentic self than one that’s been moulded. So, with those two things inmind, I choose to make decisions as independently as I can. On the rareoccasion when I do consult with people, I make it a point to mentally preparemyself. Because as well-meaning asfriends and family can be, they can also sometimes fall into these categories: They can be protective and therefore prefer my comfort over my growth They can have a very defined image of who I am and unintentionally hold me to this lesser persona They can be biased by their own life experiences and discourage me out of fearUltimately, my choice to keep my decisions private until they’re already carried through makes me far more agile, bold and action-oriented. Holding myself accountable Finally, I’ve discovered that keeping my ideas and plans to myself helps me hold myself accountable. I know that I have me, and only me, to look to for the results. Before I adopted this strategy, I would listen to others, and when things wouldn’t work out I would get upset with their advice and at myself for listening to it. Now, I know that I stand alone in my life choices- a sentiment that is both powerful and demands the thoughtfulness of calculated risks. I share this because becoming a private, self-directed person has been one of the most important parts of my life. If this resonates with you, try it and tell me if it works for you, too. Jasmin PannuMore inspiring articles:After Years of Trauma, This Is What Choosing Myself Looks Like Every DayGrowing Up, I Hated My Dad. Now I See Him Differently4 Subtle Signs You Had Toxic Parents and It’s Still Affecting You6 Signs You Had An Emotionally Abusive Parent and Didn’t Know It