Updating My Living Space
- devabritow
- Feb 1
- 7 min read
"Do not wait for a change of environment before you act. Cause a change of environment through action. You can act upon your present environment so as to cause yourself to be transferred to a better environment." (Wallace D. Wattles)
Before I launch into this week's topic, I wanted to briefly mention last week's post. It was a lot, and I think it was an accurate example of the mind at play in the worst possible way. I'm still in the thick of it, unfortunately (the circumstance, not the mind), but am taking it one step at a time. The results of the blood test prompted an ultrasound, which I had on Thursday. True to life's sometimes sick sense of humour, given how late the scan was in the week, I have to wait until early next week to hear the results.
As in many other instances, this (potential) health issue has given me pause for thought. It is unfortunate that in my case, I really only look at life and my choices when faced with sickness and adversity. It's ridiculous if I think about it because we're best placed to do so when we're happy and healthy - unhindered by worry, especially specific, possibly real ones. With that detestable phrase 'it is what it is' in mind, I find myself in deep contemplation once again, and it's led to the basis of this week's post, which I'm pleased to say is based on an actual book (caveat forthcoming).
To be frank, some of these blog posts are easier to write than others. While I love this process as a whole, some posts are even more enjoyable to write than others. Existential Frustration, which I posted on the 29th of June 2025, was one of the more enjoyable ones. The post, centred on Ikigai, the book by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles, made such an impression on me that it brought me to this post. The book took me in so many wonderful, insightful and inspiring directions, but for the purpose of this week's entry, I'm focusing on only one.
"A lot of Héctor García and Francesc Miralles' book is centred on the longevity of Okinawans in Japan. Renowned as a "Blue Zone" due to its remarkably high longevity rates and a significant number of centenarians, ikigai is just one of the lifestyle and cultural practices that Okinawans have adopted. They're also known for eating until one is only 80% full ("Hara Hachi Bu"), fostering strong social and communal ties and engaging in daily physical activity. My aim in life is not to become a centenarian (not that I have a say in the matter), but I do want to live as happy and healthy a life as I can. That said, I found considerable value in reading the book, particularly in its emphasis on changing one's lifestyle and diet. Reading Ikigai sent me straight down the rabbit hole again, and by Page 12 of the book, I'd bought three new ones - all focused on the Blue Zone."
The above passage is an excerpt from my post on Ikigai, and The Blue Zones Challenge by Dan Buettner is one of the three books I bought.
And, this is where I need to include a caveat. This is a workbook, and while I have read as much as I can in preparation, it's a four-week challenge, so I'll have another month or so to work through the book.
The Blue Zones Challenge is a four-week introductory program and a year-long sustainability plan designed to help you live a healthier, happier, and possibly longer life by embracing habits from the world’s “Blue Zones” — regions where individuals enjoy notably longer and healthier lives. The book draws on author Dan Buettner’s research on communities where people frequently live to a hundred while maintaining good health. His research shows that these communities share lifestyle traits that promote longevity.
"Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement. The same way that money multiplies through compound interest, the effects of your habits multiply as you repeat them." (James Clear)
So, the first four weeks are essentially a structured way to build momentum, incorporating small wins each week that help solidify habits. After the first four weeks, the book provides an 11-month calendar of activities and reflections to help you maintain and enhance the healthy habits you've begun. The approach reminded me of James Clear's Atomic Habits, a book I covered a month after launching this blog in a post titled It's in the little things.... Incidentally, I listened to James Clear talk about The Science of Making & Breaking Habits: How to Change Your Life in 1 Month on The Mel Robbins Podcast this week, so there's that serendipity again.
In the first four weeks, The Blue Zones Challenge provides practical steps and weekly prompts to improve your diet by focusing mainly on plant-based foods, increasing exercise through natural movement (like walking and gardening), updating your living space to support healthier choices and building stronger connections through support networks like family, friends and the community. I latched onto 'updating your living space' because I think it's about more than just locale - the brick and mortar structure with a postcode.
"My mind is a bad neighbourhood, I try not to go into alone." (Sharon Stone)
If memory serves, Sharon Stone's quote was in response to the question of why she was in therapy. I've been through three rounds of face-to-face therapy between 2002 and 2025, with the longest stint being two years and three months and the shortest, just six weeks (in 2002 and 2025, respectively). Now, I'm looking elsewhere for answers, and literature makes an excellent therapist if you're receptive to it.
I long ago lost count of how many times I have moved house in my life, but I do know that I stopped counting at the twenty-seventh residence. Today is my fifty-sixth birthday, and if there's a constant in my life when it comes to taking up residence, it is that I have always lived inside my head. And boy, do I need to clean house.
"Our homes can become mini blue zones."
If I were to reduce The Blue Zone Challenge to a single, core philosophy, it would be that it doesn't focus only on strict rules or diets but on structuring your environment and habits so that the healthy option becomes the simple, automatic choice, much like the lifestyle in Blue Zones. By my estimation, and as far as healthy choices go, negative thinking is a bad choice. Since the mind practices what it repeats, negative thinking can swiftly become an unhealthy habit.
As counterintuitive as it sounds, negative thinking starts off as a protective impulse as the brain attempts to foresee danger, avoid disappointment or prepare for the worst. But it becomes hugely problematic when this internal alarm system doesn't switch off - leading to increased anxiety, fatigue and low moods, as well as narrowing perception and shaping behaviours. At this point, thoughts no longer reflect reality; they start creating it because your body reacts as if you're actually experiencing that negative thought. And, just like that, you're in a negative loop - one I have spent a fair amount of time trying to get out of. If we're talking mental real estate, I have a roommate to evict.
Mindfulness and Self-Help
Negative thinking sits slap-bang in the middle of mindfulness and self-help, two practices that work toward remedying the same problem: stopping unexamined thoughts in their tracks.
As promoted in The Blue Zones Challenge, my aim isn't discipline; it's to design a life where healthy choices and behaviour happen by default. Now, as I head toward my first day on The Blue Zones Challenge, this is the first healthy choice I need to make. It's easy to stock my fridge with more nutritional food, but stopping unexamined thoughts in their tracks - that takes a lot more effort. Mindful effort in the interest of self-help and self-care. In keeping with the Blue Zones approach, my first question is: what type of environment will make negative thinking less likely to run unexamined? I'll need to reduce exposure to my triggers - the ones that fuel rumination and worry - the ones that spike cortisol. This means reduced social media usage (especially first thing in the morning), focused work instead of multitasking, and surrounding myself with visual cues that keep me grounded in the present moment and focused on my goals. It also includes mental mapping and the process of scheduled thought disengagement, a practice that trains the mind not spend all day problem-solving. This process/practice alone reduces habitual negativity.
I also need to remind myself that I have a purpose - a goal that exists outside of myself - one that is outward and directional, and independent of my thoughts. I read somewhere that we don't argue with negative thoughts; we outgrow them. This viewpoint is consistent with contemporary psychological methods, especially Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and mindfulness-based practices. These suggest that battling or disputing negative thoughts can often enhance their influence (overthinking), whereas outgrowing them entails altering your relationship with them. The way I alter the relationship I have with my thoughts is to constantly remind myself that they're not me and they're not my experience or reality. As an observer, I can alter that relationship completely - I can extract myself from the abusive relationship I have with this roommate and update my internal living space.
Random Quote
“You are not your thoughts. You are the observer of your thoughts.” — Eckhart Tolle
#anxiety #depression #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #youarenotalone #thereisnostigma #selfcare #selfhelp #wellness
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