Pachuca Paints Itself project creating an 'an improved sense of social cohesion'.
Have you ever noticed how profoundly your surroundings impact your mood?
We are impacted not only by the broader environment but also our personal environment and our emotional environment.
Some of our responses to our surroundings are influenced by experience, knowledge and culture.
Ellard
People often talk about the weather and how that impacts on their mood, some people experience the 'blues' during the winter months when there is less sunshine, or they are impacted by windy or wet days.
Our more immediate surroundings or our personal environment can also have a huge impact on us!
Since the early beginnings of humanity we have needed to be aware and in tune with our surroundings. This was based initially on surviving but these days it is more about thriving, so we now tend to seek out surroundings with certain qualities that meet certain needs.
Our emotional environment also impacts how we feel. We often pick up on 'vibes' that other people are putting out and this can cause a reaction in us - this is often termed emotional contagion! So if you are having a down day - head for people that are more upbeat and positive, if you are feeling a bit 'out of control' or anxious, head for people that are calm. It just might help stabilise your own mood!
I worked in an office environment for several years and I would surround myself with bright cheery colours because that would impact on how I felt and make me feel more upbeat, which in turn increased my productivity. However at home our colour palette was much more muted, natural tones, lots of wood, linen and other natural fibres. This always helped me feel calmer and more relaxed and helped me keep clear separation between my work environment and my home one.
One of the things that I often talked to my colleagues about was my work environment and how it could be a reflection of how I was feeling. It was often a little bit of a 'chicken before the egg' scenario! If my desk was absolutely chaotic with papers everywhere, filing needing to be done and generally disordered, then I felt really disordered and chaotic. But if I was feeling really disordered and chaotic then my desk would often look that way too - so which came first chaotic mind or chaotic desk?
I still don't know! What I do know is that when I would get to the office in the morning I would spend a couple of minutes creating some order around me before I started the day. It always helped me feel as though I had a degree of control in the chaos!
Perhaps most importantly for health, the environment can create or reduce stress, which in turn impacts our bodies in multiple ways. This is because our brain and our nervous, endocrine, and immune systems are constantly interacting.
University of Minnesota.
Working from home now I find that if my surroundings are chaotic, then I often feel chaotic. I also need a space that is designated as a work space so I maintain some degree of separation!
So how does that work when part of my work space is also my happy space - my yarny happy space!
Well that is the one place that I don't mind there being no separation. My yarny space is everywhere, in the lounge room, in the dining room, in the car, on holidays etc. So it doesn't really matter so much. What does still happen though is that I need to maintain a degree of order in my yarny space.
Every project has a bag, sometimes I have bags inside of bags!!! If things devolve into a tangled yarny mess then I need to reorder things before I proceed with my project!
My surroundings are generally clean, light, airy, warm and cozy but most of all ordered!
If you make sure that your environment supports your dreams, achieving your dreams becomes radically easier. Whatever you are surrounded by all day influences you more than you think.
Author Unknown