Did you know that there are nine distinct elements – called nine environments — that weave the fabric of your life? Well-designed environments that support and inspire you are the key to your success in anything you want to achieve.
If you’ve ever gone from working in a cluttered and disorganized office, to experiencing the calm and peace of clearing out the clutter, you’ve experienced a physical environmental design change.
Or maybe you’ve tried to get some work done in a stuffy coffee shop where there was an argument going on nearby, and you moved outside to experience the fresh air that nature provides, while enjoying the sound of singing birds and the peace and quiet of being away from the exchange of harsh words. You’ve experienced a nature environmental design change.
Perhaps you’ve made some adjustments regarding who you allow into your inner circle of friends – a relationship environmental design change. There are very few things that I find more nourishing to my soul than spending concentrated time with people who share my core values. My husband and I just returned from an incredible vacation in Mexico with some very special friends. We enjoyed many deep and honest conversations about life, work, family, and the complexities of our world today. We also enjoyed nurturing our bodies by doing fun activities and having some great meals together.
If you can relate to the examples above, then you know the power that your environments have over you, and how important it is that you design these environments so they support you. An environment that is full of obstacles or is missing essential support will make it impossible to succeed in your efforts, regardless of what your goals are.
Although I have shared Thomas Leonard’s Nine Environments of You before, I’m sharing it again because it is such a powerful model that will change your life when you consciously choose to upgrade your environments.
The Nine Environments of YOU
Most of us think of our environment as something physical. The physical environment represents only a small part or a much bigger picture.
There are a total of nine environments, as identified by Thomas Leonard:
- Memetic Environment
- Body Environment
- Self Environment
- Spiritual Environment
- Relationship Environment
- Network Environment
- Financial Environment
- Physical Environment
- Nature Environment
Let’s take a closer look at each one…
Memetic Environment
The world is full of ideas and beliefs. What you focus on expands. The question is, which ideas and beliefs does your mind focus on? Do your beliefs support your goals and intentions?
For example, if you have a goal to increase your income this year, and you also have a belief that “money is the root of all evil,” this belief will most likely cause you to sabotage any efforts to increase your income. Beliefs can be consciously changed.
Notice that the Memetic environment touches the other eight environments in the model above. That’s because everything gets filtered through your mind. The words you use form the thoughts in your mind. Those thoughts produce feelings, which affect the decisions you make, which affect the actions you take, which affect the habits you create, which create the character you develop, which altogether yields your destiny.
If you want to change anything in any of your nine environments, it begins with your memetics — your beliefs and paradigms that form the thoughts you think and the language you use with yourself and others.
Body Environment
You may not have previously thought of your body as an environment, but it is. You are not your body; your body is something you have, and it can be designed. The Body Environment includes clothing, hair and energy.
Is your body a source of inspiration to you? Is it strong, flexible and healthy?
A positive body image is one of the most important aspects of happiness and well-being, yet it is an area which often seems to be a challenge for many. Creating strength, energy, good health and well-being through daily practices is an essential part of designing your environments to support your goals and intentions in life.
Self Environment
The Self is another element of the environment that is not often considered. You have been given unique skills, strengths, talents, personality, temperament, character, abilities and passions that you can use together to leverage and maximize your success.
Are you fully expressing your authentic self? Living an authentic life honors your own integrity and can inspire others to do the same.
Spiritual Environment
Are you getting your energy from negative points of power such as apathy, grief, fear, lust, control, overwhelm, clutter, addictions, manipulation, and anger, OR from positive points of power such as love, truth, courageousness, beauty, gratitude and peace?
As with all design choices, you can choose to get energy from the highest of sources, which ultimately come from living in a way that honors the soul.
Relationship Environment
If you want to know someone really well, simply get to know the five people they are closest to. Everyone in a person’s life acts as a mirror to some part of themselves. We become like the people we spend the most time with.
Do the people closest to you reflect who you want to be? If not, it’s time to make some changes in your Relationship Environment.
Network Environment
As your goals change, the network of people you associate with must evolve and grow. How can you team up with others to create a supportive and thriving network? Are you networked with people who pull you up or who push you down? If you are the role model that everyone looks up to in your network, it’s time to upgrade your network – get out of your comfort zone – and spend some time with people you aspire to be like.
In sports, we are taught to challenge the best players we can find because in doing so, our skill set will improve. In other words, spend time with those who are doing what you want to do, and soon you’ll be doing it, too.
Financial Environment
Nearly anything you do will be affected by your Financial Environment. How healthy is your financial life? If you don’t know, it may be time to take your head out of the sand and find out how you’re really doing. It is important that you have a realistic picture of your current financial health. Far too many people have lived on easy-to-get credit and have dug a deep hole because they were not paying attention.
Understand where you are and now and visualize the future that you desire. What skills are required to move you in the direction of financial freedom?
Physical Environment
Does your physical space inspire you?
You can create space that nurtures you on every level and expresses your true personality and flair.
Your Physical Environment can stimulate your spiritual energy and make you feel at home, relaxed, safe and secure.
Nature Environment
Our spirits are so lifted by flowers, a beautiful rainbow, a breathtaking night sky, or a walk in a lush forest. We are drawn to beautiful views and to the sound of a waterfall, spring rain, or crashing waves on a beach. Our deep and compelling desire for a connection with nature has the potential to be a constant source of inspiration. Connection to nature can restore your sense of wonder.
All Nine Environments Work Together
Success can be achieved and sustained only when all nine environments are working together to support you. Change your environments and you’ll change your life. Changing only one or two environments will not yield the same result.
To assist you in getting started, I invite you to take a deeper dive into each of the nine environments described above. I’ve previously written a blog about each one and you can find links to these below. At the end of each blog are some questions that will help you take a closer look at what needs your attention in each respective environment.
If you’d like a fresh perspective– someone to help you design the balanced life you want by aligning your vision, priorities, and actions—let’s schedule a no-cost, no-pressure Discovery Call today.
Blogs About Each Environment:
- Balance Your Life: Environment #1 – Memetic/Mental
- Balance Your Life: Environment #2 – Body
- Balance Your Life: Environment #3 – Self
- Balance Your Life: Environment #4 – Spiritual
- Balance Your Life: Environment #5 – Relationships
- Balance your Life: Environment #6 – Network
- Balance Your Life: Environment #7 – Financial
- Balance Your Life: Environment #8 – Physical
- Balance Your Life: Environment #9 – Nature
