Enhance Success by Modifying Your Environment
By:Lewis Churty
There are many factors that contribute to success in business. Knowledge, skill, luck, timing, bravery, charisma; pretty much every personality trait has a part to play. Of dramatic importance is the mindset with which we approach our business endeavor; our opinion on our efforts, do we think we will succeed or fail and how happy we feel as we are working. The more tuned this mindset is to success, the more we start to change our behavior in small ways, to make such success a reality.
To attain such results is easier than you would think, in fact, merely by modifying your environment in a number of very small and subtle ways, you can start to pick up on subconscious signals which your brain will use to change your behavior and become more receptive to success. These changes do not have to be large or encroach upon your personal space and they should not require any major rearranging of your home or office.
The tips below are all things that have worked for me personally. Everyone’s work space is different of course so it is important to apply the concepts mentioned below to your own environment and see what works best for you.
Pictorial stimuli – Most of us have pictures of our loved ones somewhere around the area where we work. Being constantly in sight of those pictures resolves and reinforces the idea of affection and familiarity with those in the photos. The subtle introduction of a number of images of wealth and success (beautiful holiday destinations for example or expensive cars or homes) we will begin to associate these images with ourselves and our family and our brain will become more tuned to making such ideas a reality.
Get to the route of problems – This tip is actually based on a principle from Feng Shui and is primarily from those who work at home. If you have clear and easy paths to the areas of the house that you use for work related actions then you are telling your brain that you want to follow such paths. Try not to hide your printer or fax machine away behind a door if you need it regularly, if you make sure the walk from your computer to your coffee machine is clean and clear of obstruction then you are less likely to linger on the way eating up work time. Choose the areas of house that are most important when you are working and examine the routes between them. Now picture your office as the center of the web of these routes so they all lead back there and not to each other. The front door, the telephone in the other room, the bathroom, the kitchen, if the routes between these places leading back to your office are accessible then you are telling your brain that you want to walk them and get back t work.
Sort out your desk and your desktop – Effective organization of your work area is important both for efficiency and for creating a successful mindset. Lets consider the computer first. Making changes to your computer is easy and yet so important for the vast majority of business work is done on the screen these days. So make your computer up to reinforce the successful mindset idea. Have a successful image as your desktop background, change file and folder names to sound more successful (’Past Conquests’ sounds a lot more powerful than ‘Old Accounts’ for example) and keep your desktop clean and organized so that nothing hinders the introduction of new work. Likewise your desk should be arranged to optimize success. Keep it clean and tidy and arrange your paraphernalia in the order that you would prefer to use it. For most this would mean having outgoing mail and waste paper basket, even shredder set far from the seat at the desk to tell the brain that we don’t want to make mistakes or waste time and we would prefer a situation where we receive opportunities and offers and are not the ones sending them out. Keeping certain items on the desk permanently is also important, having a constant spot where your coffee is placed means you don’t need to rearrange everything whenever you need a caffeine kick and having a permanent spot for a to-do list reinforces the idea that there is always something else to achieve.
Add some mirrors – There is often a significant feeling of isolation, even oppression for people as they work. Feelings that you are unsuccessful often manifest themselves in this way and we begin to associate leaving or expanding the work area with happiness. However, the clever addition of a mirror or two in strategic places can trick the brain into associating such expansion with yourself and your office or area. Ideal places for mirrors are opposite windows (and it is important that these are kept clean) or facing beautiful scenic pictures and photographs. Correct mirror placement can help the subconscious transcend the immediate surroundings resulting in more expansive thinking and a happier frame of mind.
When we are working we do not want to feel like we are just ‘working’, it is much nicer to believe that we are ‘achieving’ or ’succeeding’ and all this takes is the correct outlook on our efforts. Start creating your outlook today, make a positive change to your environment and maybe you’ll attain just the level of success you are looking for.
