iconoclast article 028

re-designing our environment  

It’s worth considering taking the extra time to curate our environments. Paying attention to the closest people in our lives, accepting the circumstances & setting boundaries are all valuable. Our environments hold more influence than our genes. 

Whether someone is close to us or not, it’s worth analyzing the influence we allow them to have on us. We may sometimes fall into the idea that others can influence us without our consent, although everyone can think for themselves. There will always be a balance of positive and negative influences, it’s ultimately up to us to examine these further. Accepting the circumstances of our environment is a great step further in redesigning it. Awareness of how we’ve previously allowed influence to affect us will take great courage and patience. Once we accept reality, we can shift our paradigm, allowing us to redefine ourselves to make improvements. This will inevitably change our environment. Setting boundaries for both ourselves and the individuals in our lives takes strength. This is a very unconventional act by those who have not tried the exercise. 

Setting boundaries for ourselves offers the opportunity to explore our abilities within self-discipline. There are various and effective ways to curate how we discipline ourselves. This essentially leads to progress for our environment. Boundaries for our loved ones can be extremely hard; we may feel as if we are in the wrong. It’s important to kick the negative thoughts and change our paradigm to recognize that boundaries can help develop an improved relationship with a loved one. Boundaries for the people we are meeting for the first time or we aren’t so close with can also be beneficial; it’s important to be aware these individuals still contribute influence and sometimes bring high doses. 

In a sense, we all have dreams and aspirations of going to a foreign country, taking part in activities we’ve always wanted to try, and essentially creating the best life that we can for ourselves and our loved ones. All these contribute to redesigning our environments. These changes and boundaries often do not happen overnight. Different obstacles wait for us, preying on how we’ll manage them. It’s worth considering that obstacles are similar to illusions; we entertain the thought of difficulty within our minds as we grow it with fear. Seeing through these illusions and obstacles we often create for ourselves is important. 

If you have developed an interest in self-awareness, this is a grand sign that you’re headed in a positive direction—also, a grand gesture to yourself. We encourage the idea of taking the necessary time to pay attention to the present moment, accept it, and set positive boundaries that can lead to more happiness, joy, and serenity.