Supporting Your Goals With Your Surroundings

We hear a lot about manifesting our own reality these days. The basic idea is that the way we think creates the reality we experience. And this is quite true; however, the converse is also true. Our surroundings influence the way we think. The quality of our surroundings can play a big role in whether we are productive or stuck in a rut, energetic, or overwhelmed.

Here are a few ideas on changing your environment to change your frame of mind. This is actually a basic behavioral technique. Very often, a change in the environment will correct problem behaviors in children with disabilities. This kind of passive change can make active intervention unnecessary. The same is true for all people in everyday life.

The environment in which we work and play has the power to support and encourage us or drag on our energy and bring us down. A conducive environment gives continuous positive reinforcement. By consciously creating space that enhances the thought processes and helps you focus on your goals, you give yourself a leg-up to achieving your dreams.

Here are some ways that you can enhance and support your goals by modifying your environment.

Start by eliminating the negative.

Remove things from your space that detract from your goal. Dispose of clutter that collects dust and drags you down. Choose furnishings and items that reflect your personality and that carry you forward to your goal. Choose colors that bring you happiness and inspiration. Get rid of broken things. Take care to light your rooms in a way that you feel is uplifting.

It may be hard to know where to begin energizing your space. A good way to start is to just take a look around. Do you see things in your work-space that are distracting, broken, dirty, or that you just don't use any more? Pitch them! This can seem like a daunting task, especially if there are a lot of them, but just do it a bit at a time if you have to. Every time you run an errand, take some unwanted item out and donate it. Throw away things that are unusable. Recycle things that can be recycled.

Add things to your new work-space carefully.

The first thing you may want to add is a coat of paint to brighten things up and spruce up your environment. Choose just the right items to remind you of your goals and ambitions and place them carefully. Add plants to your space to bring life and fresh air to your environment. Be sure to clean your windows and add window treatments that give you the best quality of light.

Be sure that the style of furnishings you choose truly reflect your tastes and the type of life you aspire to live.

While you may theoretically believe that a modern look will move you forward and give your work-space a more crisp, energetic feel, this will not be the case if you don't actually like modern design. Choose furnishings, art, and music that truly reflect your tastes as well as your aspirations. Remember that this is your space, and you are the only one you need to please.

If you want to become something, a writer, a baker, a gardener, etc., you can begin by establishing your work-space with the trappings of the type of person you wish to be. Thinking makes it so, and by surrounding yourself with the things you need to be successful, you help yourself achieve your goal.

Here are some examples:

• Be sure to set up your space in an organized way with the nicest "props" you can attain. A clean new pad of paper, a very good pen, a nice set of desk reference books, will give you a little head start on your goal of becoming a writer. This small visual aid will help you think like a writer.
• A clean and well-organized kitchen with one or two very good cookbooks, neatly arranged utensils, spices and ingredients in order, will keep your goal of good cooking before you at all times.
• Even if you live in an apartment, a container garden on your deck, coffee table books on gardening, and plenty of potted plants will help keep you in a gardening state of mind!

The point of all this is, even if you don't have everything you really need to achieve your dream at this very moment, you should not let your dream slip away. Out of sight is out of mind. Keep the trappings of your goal before you and take the steps you can to attain your goal. Live your goal as much as possible in every day of your life.

Be sure to support your goals in specific ways.

Put a bulletin board on your wall and post encouraging memos to yourself, newspaper and magazine articles that pertain to your dream, notes of encouragement from friends, and so on. Choose your desktop background and screen saver on your computer screen to reflect your dream. Have your outgoing message on your voice-mail be something cheerful that reinforces your dream. Select posters and other art that illustrate your aspirations.

Just as if you were learning a foreign language, immerse yourself in your goals.

Live them and breathe them to achieve them. Remember not to let yourself get stuck in a rut. Once you have established one goal or set of goals, update! Keep a fresh outlook. Move forward with new cues, reminders and props.