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Welcome back to We Are Our Surroundings, a series dedicated to the discussion of how interior design and decor of our homes correlate with our mental and physical health. It's only right we end the year off with two WAOS posts back to back!
After the holidays for New Years, most humans commit to a personal resolution to better ourselves and/or our lives. Over the years after listening to goal after goal and making our own, we noticed how many of these goals rarely stemmed from our homes or our mental homes. This struck a cord! With anxiety at an all-time high, why are we as a collective society not looking at our homes first as a clue on where to begin the changes?
The biggest culprit in anxiety is looking at items that subtly pick at us. Even if we were to only look at these items once a day, that would mean we're being triggered 30 times a month! Read that again. If our New Years resolution is to get in shape, be a better parent/friend/spouse/child, or simply to progress in ourselves, we need to hit the refresh button on some items that are bringing guilt, past relationships, regret, a sense of being overwhelmed, and residing in stuck-ness.
Regret seeps in like an old flame liking our last post past midnight.
Dom: There was a point where I looked at my life and wasn't happy with where I was. I knew I needed to change and I figured out that if I changed my environment to contain items that represented the life I truly sought after, my life would slowly begin to shift. What I didn't realize was how much my mental state began to shift first. I swapped out every single item I owned that saw a previous relationship that didn't pan out or from my "old" life. Every. Single. Item. Including socks. This took a couple of years but now when I see my environment, I see new stories that I created, I see opportunities to create stories, I see myself in a different light which then enables me to carry out that energy into the world and attract all that matches my vibration, and that's a beautiful thing.
We keep levels of guilt close to us. There could be an item within our homes (probably in our bedrooms) that is causing us to feel a little guilty. Maybe we keep a book around on the shelf that we never read but "should", shoes that go untouched that were meant for working out, or a notebook on the bedside table that's collecting dust. Whatever it is, the guilt is building and it needs to be removed so you can mentally move on.
Regret seeps in like an old flame liking our last post past midnight. We know all too well of that one piece of clothing doesn't fit well. Why do we keep it? It looks good, yes, but we also spent money on it! We're invested! That investment is not worth the silent mental beating we put on ourselves. List that item on Poshmark, Ebay, or wherever and move on from it. The message we send to our subconscious is that piece of clothing (or whatever the item may be) is worth more than our true happiness. The investment in ourselves and our spaces are far more valuable.
All of this can bring on a sense of being overwhelmed. Where to start? How do we part ways with things that we spent money on? Sometimes we're too close to the question to provide an answer. Take a deep breath and close your eyes. When you reopen them, simply move. Move until every last item is removed from the space that needs the refresh. Once it's empty, it will be clear to see the next move needed. As we slowly bring item back in, some won't make the cut because the process of clearing our mental space has already begun and our new fresher self has taken the wheel.
Thank you, all for an outstanding and supportive year. We're looking forward to see your new spaces! If you have any requests for content, please shoot us an email or message. See you next time. Happy Holidays!