Create The World You Live In: Choose Surroundings

You can not only decorate your bedroom, you can dictate the surroundings of your entire life. In this part, you will understand the effect your immediate surroundings have on you. You will learn ways to improve your surroundings, and accept your sensitivities around certain surroundings.

Transcript

Picture yourself in your dream house.

It is summer and you are surrounded by nature.

A big garden,

A soft breeze.

You're lying by the pool with your best friends.

The sun is about to set and your favorite song starts playing on the radio.

How do you feel?

Now picture a 20-story,

500-bedroom hotel building being built directly next to you.

High cranes,

200 people working,

Sledgehammers,

Construction vehicles,

Dust,

Constant noise.

How do you feel now?

Your surroundings heavily influence your state of mind.

So let's look at how you can take advantage of this.

So today we're looking at how your permanent and impermanent surroundings influence not only your mood,

But also your ability to grow.

Our goal is for you to become more conscious when choosing your whereabouts and furthermore choosing the people you surround yourself with.

We will also come to understand the effects of nature and what actually happens to you when you spend time in nature.

Frank Lloyd Wright said,

I believe in God,

Only I spell it N-A-T-U-R-E.

Let us look at your surroundings,

Especially nature,

And how you can make your life a whole lot easier.

Now the influence that surroundings have on you might be greater than you actually think.

Surroundings can cater for or completely go against different needs you have in different situations.

What surroundings do you need when eating,

When working,

When having fun,

When relaxing?

Your answers might come easy,

Like you need quiet surroundings when working.

That's great,

But today we want to go more into detail.

We want to make use of the subtle,

Subconscious effects surroundings have on you.

Now let's start with one of your permanent surroundings,

Your home.

It's a surrounding that you consciously or subconsciously manipulate in order to serve you.

For example,

You have a bedroom that can be made dark so that you can sleep.

That's a no-brainer,

But let's get a little more subtle.

What else do you surround yourself with in order to sleep?

What does the bedroom look like and thus feel like?

Where did you place your bed?

What color are the curtains?

What mattress do you use?

Is your bedroom quiet?

Do you sleep with a window open?

There are a lot more questions like these,

And the more of them you can answer in detail,

The better.

The more conscious you are of your surroundings at home,

The more every room,

Space and corner will serve your specific needs.

Now when I talk about surroundings,

I'm not only talking about visuals.

Other senses like smelling,

Tasting,

Hearing,

Feeling are also important.

What does the air smell like where you are right now?

And does it have enough oxygen?

What material do you sit on right now,

And how does it make your body feel?

There are a ton of different qualities you can become aware of for all kinds of senses.

Now when it comes to manipulating the surroundings that you control,

Remember that you're an individual,

And thus your needs are unique.

What might be right for you,

Might be wrong for someone else.

Maybe you feel easily cluttered,

So you need a minimal amount of furniture.

Maybe you feel easily lost,

So you need to have a lot of furniture.

Maybe red makes you aggressive,

Or maybe it makes you feel warm.

Your feelings and your mental reaction to your surroundings are not a coincidence.

They are specific according to your personality.

So make sure you trust your own instincts above anything else.

Now when it comes to surroundings that you do not control,

I want to mention that you still control how much time you spend in these places.

And maybe there is an alternative you haven't considered yet.

How do you go to work?

Car,

Bike,

Bus or train?

What restaurant do you go to after work?

Are you the kind of person who needs to be in a loud,

Bright and social place to get going?

Or does a quiet and dark place help you find balance and happiness?

Spend as much time as you can in surroundings that serve you.

Now we already discussed that you are a unique individual.

But I would like to extend that a bit.

You are an ever-changing unique individual.

Just because last Sunday the beach was the perfect surrounding for you,

Does not mean this has to apply next Sunday.

Maybe your energy changed and you find out that the beach is too vast and windy for you and that it makes you anxious.

Find out and accept what surroundings serve you when and make conscious choices around that knowledge.

Now let us talk about surrounding yourself with the right people.

I believe that you have zero chances to develop yourself and live a balanced life without surrounding yourself with great people.

As Jim Rohn famously said,

You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.

If that is true,

Then choosing your friends and life partner wisely is fundamental to who you become.

So let's have a look at what is important when it comes to surrounding yourself with the right people.

Let's talk about inspiration first.

People you surround yourself with should be positive and have healthy actions and habits,

So that they can inspire you to do the same.

For example,

At a dinner party.

If all of your friends eat healthy food and talk lightheartedly,

Chances are you will do the same.

If you are in a bar and your obnoxious friends are getting drunk and offensive,

Chances are you do the same.

Whoever you are around inspires you for the better or the worse.

The next trait to look out for in people you surround yourself with is accountability.

Good people don't just blindly make you feel good about yourself or shout,

That's a great idea,

At anything that ever comes out of your mouth.

Even though good people do have a positive attitude in general,

They will hold you accountable and also challenge you at times.

They are not always your cheerleaders,

But they do care about you.

High quality friends would rather have a fight with you than see you go down the wrong path.

The last trait I want to make you aware of when it comes to surrounding yourself with the right people is support.

Who will be there for you when you feel bad?

When you are in a bad place,

You will quickly find out who your real friends are and who your for fun only friends are.

There are people in this world who genuinely care for you.

Find out who they are and surround yourself with them as much as you can.

Now how do we find and choose people with good traits?

There are two steps.

The first step is to see people for who they are.

And who they are is their actions and lifestyles,

Not their words.

This is very important.

Do not judge people by how they talk about themselves.

Judge them by the way they live their lives,

Their actions.

The second step is to be proactive.

You can make close friends at any stage of your life,

But you have to be proactive.

Try to make friend dates as often as possible.

Don't get discouraged if you need a few attempts with quality people.

They are worth your persistence in the long run.

Now we have arrived at the last part of today,

Which is why spending time in nature is so powerful.

I am now trying to explain the unexplainable.

I am trying to explain what nature does to you.

Yes,

It is tranquil and calms you and clears your mind.

I would agree with all of that.

But it does a whole lot more with you.

To feel the unexplainable power of nature,

You need to make time for nature.

And you need to truly allow yourself to connect with nature.

So let's explore what happens when you go to places that humans have not tempered with,

Otherwise known as nature.

These places allow you to feel the way you need to feel at that very moment.

Nature can humble you.

Nature can give you energy or make you feel tired.

Nature can make you feel small or big.

Nature can make you cry or it can make you laugh and feel ecstatic.

Nature will allow you to experience yourself truly in the very moment you connect to it,

When you let nature guide you.

Now,

Before we talk about practical exercises,

I want to talk about measuring the effect of your surroundings on your mind and your body,

Even though they can often not be scientifically measured.

Of course,

There are exceptions,

Like production of vitamin D in the sunlight,

But often it is not so obvious.

Nevertheless,

I truly believe that whatever you surround yourself with is influencing not only your psychological health,

But also your physical health,

Your biochemistry.

Everything is connected.

Your nervous,

Endocrine and immune system constantly influence each other.

So make sure you are as aware as possible of how your surroundings can affect all of these in a positive or negative way.