Creating a successful environment?

Everything is a choice, we chose when we wake up, what actions we take, who we spend our time with, where we do so and we are the sum of those choices, they become the stories that we tell ourselves about our self-identity. Whilst it might be true that given our life situation and characters we only have a range of options rather than unlimited choice, though there is always a choice available to you. The most important thing about choices is to start making them because if you are not, life and our habit of who we are, is making them for you, you are just not aware of it, and that is the thing about awareness once you have it, you take on the responsibility of owning your choices. The environment that surrounds us offers the easy access into the world of choice, as it is always available, it is always around us, whether it is ours or not.

Even if you do not own the environment around you, you still make a choice about whether you improve it or not. It could be a workstation, the works van, a hot desk, the train you are travelling on or even a pavement that you are walking on, there is always a choice about whether you want to leave that place better, worse or just the same. There is always a responsibility available that you can take if you want to, you get to choose whether you want to make a positive impact on the environment around you, there are very few places that could be described as perfect, but there is something kind of beautiful about the attempt to get there, I love seeing an old person sweeping the autumn leaves of the pavement and into the gutter, there is a love for the world in action and an heroic sort of pointlessness, that is just delightful.

However on a more practical note, the place where you can have the maximum impact on your life is your own home, even if that is just a bedroom (or half of one). Like how the mind and body is really different aspects of a single thing, so the environment where we spend the most time cannot help but affect our minds, when we encounter a classic hoarder with their piles of magazines, letters and cat litter trays balanced on, we instinctively know we are dealing with a mind that is chaotic and a little crazy. So if we know in the most extreme cases that this is true, the opposite must also be true, a clean place with an abundance of space is a supportive environment for a clean, ordered and functional mind.

Though we do not have to become overnight minimalists, we are not interested in a pseudo-religion of possession burning, having abundance is a true gift, being surrounded by things that have value to us, are in alignment with our values and have a home that shows that they are valued, is a truly wonderful position to be in, but it is one that should be evolved towards, considered and curated over time. Everything is a process, the joy of life is enjoying the process, not the destination, arriving is always just the start of the next process.

The start of any process can only begin by the act of starting, the first small step (and thinking does not count as an action, unless it is accompanied by action). You might have to do some tyding and weeding before starting to plant fresh flowers, and the best way to do that is to simply consider your space, please stop reading for moment and consider what is the smallest plausible thing I can do to improve the space around me, and then do so, often and frequently. It could be a minor piece of trash, cereal bowls from the morning, an empty cup of tea, an old magazine that is no longer serving you or you could realise that you have too many chairs, decorative pieces, an out of control library, vinyl or books, maybe the twenty pillows on your couch are hiding the half dozen that are truly beautiful, less can often be more. It is the collectors fallacy that quantity is more important than quality, I would always prefer a single beautiful painting to several posters, an imperfect, handmade coffee mug to a cheap full serving set.

It is this curating, the selection of the few beautiful things in preference to the bulk of cheap consumer products that takes time and consideration. It can be a very enjoyable and satisfying process in itself, to transform yourself into a discerning buyer of quality instead of someone just throwing money at the problem, is a joyful experience, and whilst I would not recommend deliberately being useless as first (as I was) it does make for a more interesting journey, a more satisfying evolution from being a careless inefficient consumer. It is without doubt empowering when you start to take more elegant and skilful action, when you upgrade from $20 a year boots to 10 year pair of boots, in terms of just not having to shop nine more times it would be worth $200 and yet surprisingly they were less than half that price. And the most inspiring part is the warmth that you start to feel for your past self, every-time you tie your shoelaces you get to be reminded how good making a good decision feels, you get to physically touch how much better these boots are and it enables you to start looking for more future opportunities to have the same experience.

Our environments are so powerful on us because we can have such a powerful effect on them, and this is not a blame game, it does not matter whether you put the dog or the cat into the box first you are still going to have to fight on your hands. However you got to where you are now, it is only the journey from there that matters, whether you are in a good or bad place you get to choose where you are going from here, and please do it with one plausible small step at a time, keep looking around your room and asking what can I do next and more importantly what can I do now.

Every time you leave your room you have the opportunity to move something to the trash or to its home, and if it does not have a home maybe it is time to give it one. To have a home full of honoured items, that are maintained, cleaned and valued, means that the chances that you are maintained, cleaned and valued are much higher, as my mother used to advise me, you never know when you want to have clean underwear so it is best to always have it on, in the same way you always carry a knowledge whether your home is clean and fresh, whether you happen to be there or not. Being competent is the first stage of being confidant, and have the home of a person who is competent and confidant makes you feel more like that kind of person, and it means you are more like to treat yourself like that kind of person, and before you know you get to be that person, successful people have successful environment as sure as night follows day, so prepare your home to be the beautiful place to wake up to the person you want it to be.