"You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with". This quote gives the simplest way to explain how we are affected by our environment, but the answer is hidden. Let’s think about what would happen if the 5 people we spent the most time with were all Billionaires or the top fitness people in the world. What changes do you think you would see in your life?
This goes beyond just the people we are around. Did you ever notice how a song can make you feel? Have you ever wondered why some sitcoms using "canned" laughter in their shows? Its because our senses and perception can be influenced by our environment and these influences directly impact our Mindset. Because we can be influenced there are nearly an unlimited amount of ways it can impact our health.
How Does the environment affect your health and well-being?
Before we continue, I think its important to really understand what exactly the environment is. We are always interacting with the environment and the environment is always interacting with us. The easiest way to think of this is to think of anything that we don't consider to be "ourselves". It could be something physical, non-physical, or meta-physical. Stop for a minute and look at everything that is around you. Everything has the potential to impact you in various ways.
Let's look at the top 5 ways the environment affects your health and well-being.
The People Around You Can Affect You
Let’s go back to our example of the average of 5 people. Imagine the differences in your life if the 5 people you spent the most time with where Billionaires. What changes would you see? Well, for one, you would instantly have access to potential business opportunities not available to the general public. Not only that but you would likely have access to funds to invest in these opportunities. The habits that you have would change to match those of the average. Essentially, you adopt the mindset of a Billionaire and would likely be on your path to building significant wealth. Now, what would happen if the 5 people you were around tended to think negatively. Again, you would adopt those habits and become more negative
The Music You Listen Too Affect You
Let’s do a simple thought experiment. You are at the gym about to do your regular workout, its leg day! You get to the squat rank and decided that today is the day you are going to push yourself. You hear some up-tempo music and start getting pumped up for this next set. Your feeling the burn, your legs feel like they are about to collapse but you are determined to push and finish the set. Just 2 more reps. Just as you are mid-rep struggling the song at the Gym changes. They next thing you hear is "Let Go" from Frozen.
Imaging how would you feel, there is no way that you would be in the mindset to finish that last rep. Music being a creative outlet can change us in ways that are hard to explain but easy to feel. Have you ever noticed the types of songs you listen to when you are feeling down? How does that differ when you are feeling powerful? While you may think that a song is just a song, really music is a very powerful way to influence people. This is why in the past music was often censored.
The Shows You Watch Affect You
One of my favorite examples is watching a Horror movie. By its design a Horror movie is designed to make the audience feel fear. Similarly, how a comedy when done well is designed to make the Audience feel joy and laughter. So, you may think that consciously you know that the movie isn't real but the majority of everything we do is subconscious. The real problem is that the mind doesn't know the difference between a thought with feeling and reality. The news can have the same impacts which is why I personally stopped watching the news. I once read that if the news only reported on positive events that they would basically go out of business. So, if you are subconsciously in a state of fear, it can create a mindset of anxiety, stress and depression.
Your Work Affects You
I am sure this comes as no surprise, but your work can affect you. There have been many articles written on the impacts of a toxic work environment to your health, but here is a simple way of looking at it. We spend at least 50% of our awake day at work or doing work related activities. This is more time than we spend in our own home. If you are constantly around something that makes you feel any feeling of negativity then this will impact your health. There are countless studies that have linked poor health to a poor working environment.
Your Home Can Affect You
"Looking into someone's home is like looking into someone's mind". Next to your body, your home is the most intimate part of you. If you tend to have a lot of clutter in your home, then likely there is a lot of clutter in your mind. Take the more extreme example of the show Hoarders (IMDB Link). If you've never seen the show, its about individuals who basically keep everything they have every had, been given, or find. This directly impacts their physical health and well-being. The items in your home, general cleanliness and even the amount of sunlight you let in directly impact the way you feel and your mindset. Even something as simply as Motivational Canvas Art can help to change your mindset which.
How can something that's not alive impact me?
The answer can be answered with one simple word, Intention! Now, I can and will write an entire series on Intention but to keep this simple let’s do a thought experiment. Let’s think of a toy doll that looks like Chucky. If you don't know what Chucky is, basically it is a move about a doll that kills people. Here is the IMDB link if you are interested. So, lets assume that you purchased a Chucky doll for your home. You may think you have no feelings towards it. You may even have enjoyed the purchase because you love the movie and know the movie isn't real.
But step back and think about what you associate with the doll, and what the creators intended for you to feel. When it comes to the Chucky Doll, the creators wanted you to feel fear. You may even remember that feeling when you look at the doll. It might seem harmless, but this small item can impact the way you view the world. You may tend to watch more fear-based shows, have more fear when walking alone, or even constantly feel fearful. I have personally seen this happen. The point is, You Can't Have Positive In Your Life With Things That Have A Negative Intent!
Several Studies Have linked Sunlight to Your Emotional Well-Being
One of the biggest impacts in our life is the amount of Sunlight. The amount of Sunlight we get has been proven to boost serotonin. This is the "happy" chemical in our brain that is helps to give us more energy and keep us calm, positive, and focused. By simply changing the amount of sunlight that you get, outside, in your home or office you can significantly boost your mood. In fact this is so important that some Doctors have started treating seasonal affective disorder (SAD) which happens more frequently to people who experience seasons with lower levels of sunlight (WebMD - https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-
3 ways you can transform your environment for a healthier life
Be careful what and who you listen too
As we discussed earlier, what you listen to can directly impact the way you feel. It is important to surround yourself with Music, TV and People who help you to feel good. Just by feeling good you can shift your mindset, and remember, Mindset is everything. In short, don't listen to things that relate to how you feel, listen to things that relate to how you want to feel!
Remove anything that is not inline with what you want
Sometimes the right thing to do is also the hardest. It is easy to stick with the familiar, but you can't expect a different result doing or having the same things. As you have seen, it is important to understand the Intent of what's around us. Something as simple as a toy doll, or a painting can have opposite impacts on it. We need to decide what it is we want and how we want to feel and remove anything that is not inline with that!
Use Motivational and Inspirational Art Pieces
Art being inherently creative has a lot of imbedded Intent. What I mean is when the artist created the Artwork, they had thoughts and feelings. The Artwork is an expression of those thoughts and feelings. So, art doesn't just look great, it can help create a positive environment. Take for example the simple positive affirmation artwork, these simple but power pieces can help to remind you daily of who you are and what you are achieving. Having something in the house that say "I am Healthy" can help you to create the healthy person you want to be. This is something that I have personal experience with and strongly believe that something as simple as Art can make all the difference.
Change your Environment, Change your life
While your environment can impact every aspect of your life, you can make the choice to change your environment. All you need to do is decide what you want your life to be and then transform your environment to fit your vision. Change your environment and you can change your life!