A “happiness hit” occurs when the hormone dopamine spikes in our brains. You can elicit a dopamine spike by “hijacking” your habitat. By habitat, read ‘home, work, balcony, garden, etc’. Hijack your habitat for a makeover or just a minor adjustment and see how a simple change or two increases your happiness quotient. Think of it as healing your habitat to heal yourself.
Being in-sync holistically, across all aspects of ourselves, fosters happiness. Being in-sync with our true nature means being in harmony internally and externally. Happiness and harmony exude an energy that is palpable and easily recognised in those who possess it. That goes for habitats too. Happy habitats are easily recognised.
In your search for happiness, start close to home. There is always something you can do to enhance your abode. Doing so is life-enriching. Ask yourself – do my surroundings at home or work reflect who I truly am or aspire to be?
Why not embark on an exciting voyage of self-discovery by thinking about what you like. Which style suits you best – modern, retro, BOHO, chic, sophisticated, etc? Or do you like to mix ‘n match depending on your mood? Do you have favourite colours, textures, moods, historical periods, indoors/outdoors, urban/rural, and so on.
By changing a few simple things in your immediate environment – at home, at work, on your balcony or in your garden – you can lift your mood and find satisfaction and joy in achieving a goal, no matter how small. Your dopamine receptors kick in, giving you a natural high.
In the process, you will gain insights into your inner self, express your creativity and reflect who you are back to yourself. You will project yourself more accurately to those around you, if you take a little time to reflect on what makes you happy in your presentation and surroundings. You may even discover that things you once liked no longer resonate with you. You have ‘moved on’. How does that make you feel? Liberated or conflicted?
There is so much to discover about yourself, in your own relationship to your environment and by observing others in theirs. Think about the abodes of people you know – are there any indoor plants, books, paintings, art or sculpture? What are the spaces they inhabit like – large or small, open or congested, airy or confined? What about the colours: light, dark, vibrant or nondescript? Is everything monochromatic perhaps? What about the furniture? Is there tidiness or chaos?
Ask yourself whether you dare to make assumptions about the type of person someone is simply from their environment and what they surround themselves with. Then turn the mirror on yourself. Become someone meeting you for the first time and wanting to get to know you. How would that look? Is there room for improvement? If your answer is yes, then do something about it. Start by changing small things in your surroundings. Hijack your habitat! Heal it. You will find little sparks of happiness all along the way.
About The Authors
“Heal your Habitat” is a world-first design service created by the husband and wife architectural team of Voight and Teresa Holgar from Brisbane, Australia. With over 70 years’ combined design experience to draw on, the Holgars are adamant that the search for happiness should start in the home.
“Heal your Habitat seeks to invigorate and enrich the home and work environment because doing so has the power to invigorate and enrich personal and interpersonal relationships”, says Teresa Holgar.
More details can be found at www.design-doctors.com.au
Holgar & Holgar Architects (Brisbane) help people ‘heal their habitat’ and, in the process, find happiness.