(To read Part I, A New Year and a New You: An Inspiring and Expiring View of Our Environments, click here.)

In today’s modern world, we’ve been seduced into believing it’s our outer world that influences our inner world of thoughts and feelings. What we tend to forget, however, is that our inner world of thoughts and feelings can actually produce an effect on our outer world. Unfortunately we’ve been sold the idea that when we finally get what we want—the job, the partner, the home, etc.— we’ll finally be happy. As we all know, the problem with finding happiness outside of one’s self is that at best it’s temporal.

We can all agree that the majority of our waking day and conscious attention is primarily focused on the outer world. At an elementary level, the more we pay attention to our external world, the better our chance of surviving in our environment. But what if the external world we’re focusing our attention on causes an unhealthy level of stress? The more we live by the hormones of stress, the more likely we are to produce the same effect. To get out of this negative feedback loop, we need to be greater than our environment.

I’ve said that greatness is holding fast to a dream, independent of your environment—but that’s not to say we all couldn’t use a little help. So what if we could begin to cue our external environments to remind us of who we want to become? Wouldn’t these cues begin to entrain our conscious mind with the feelings and emotions of our future self? If this is the case, there’s a strong possibility that if you keep your conscious mind on what you want to achieve, your subconscious mind is also going to bring you there.

Reach For Your Goals Every Morning

The subconscious mind is its own environment. When we meditate, what we’re ultimately doing is reprogramming it. Since the mind is a reflection of our environment, wouldn’t it be smart to get our external environments in order as well? Since our goal is transformation and awakening, let’s start with where we begin and end our day, the bedroom.

The main thing most of us do when the alarm goes off in the morning is reach for our phone on our night table and hit snooze. If we don't hit snooze, chances are we check our email and social media. To break this habit, place your alarm clock and phone on the other side of the room so you’re forced to get out of bed. In place of the phone, keep an index card with your goals on it to remind you of your future. You can have a fixed set of goals or update them every week. If you make new ones every week, place the date on them and from time to time look back to see what you’ve accomplished. Make your goals the first thing you reach for every day.

The next thing you probably do is go to the bathroom. On your bathroom mirror, place inspiring words or images of who you want to become or what you want to create. Next you’ll probably eat something, so on your refrigerator do the same thing. This is a good place to remind yourself that your body is an environment. Perhaps write something such as, “Food fuels my body. I eat the best food so I can feel my best. I love myself enough to do this every day.” Before you’ve even left the house, you’ve created three cues to keep your conscious mind on your goals.

When I get serious about changing something within me, I create a big chart that I hang on the wall or lay out a calendar some place where I constantly see it. This is a powerful cue because it marries the goal with a physical action; each time I accomplish what I need to, I can check it off or mark it on the calendar. Every time I see that I’ve accomplished a series of positive choices, actions, and/or experiences over days or weeks, it only serves to fuel my momentum. In a way it becomes my own work of art, and when I look at it, I can feel good about myself. As I stay the course, I actually look forward to tracking my changes and adding another day to my masterpiece. Bottom line: It’s feedback for me to become proud of my efforts.

What we’re essentially doing with environmental cues is reminding ourselves of not only who we’re becoming, but also how we’re getting there. If your external environment is an extension of your mind, as you change your environment, your mind should change as well—and vice versa. We can accomplish gradual shifts in consciousness through the strategic placement of pictures, music, sounds, smells, symbols, statues—whatever it is that reminds us of our greatest potential. Other things you can do is hang a cork board in your room and place one thing on it every day to remind you of where you’re going, or simply take some time to update your dream board. The key is to not let these cues turn into wallpaper; take time out of your busy day and pay attention to all of them because they are there to keep you conscious, rather than unconscious.

It’s important to remember that all of the different external stimuli you are consciously interacting with are there to change your inner state of thoughts and feelings. When you engage in these reminders, ask yourself, “Do I believe I can have x or accomplish y?” Then accept, believe, and surrender to all of it without analyzing how or when it is going to occur. In other words—get out of your own way. The key is that after you’re done reviewing your future, you should feel differently than before you started. That’s how your inner world of thoughts and feelings are going to influence your outer world of reality.

If our spaces are reflections of our minds, we should organize the spaces we inhabit most. As we become someone or something new, we also have to make space for the new. If you’ve always hated that dresser in your room, get rid of it. Is your furniture too big for your space? Switch it out, and in the new empty space you’ve made, create a dedicated space to meditate, play an instrument, paint, or anything else that brings you joy.

Clean out your closets, because that’s also just another crowded corner of your mind. One way you can do this is to push all of your hanging clothes to the right. Each time you wear something and wash it, place it in the left side of your closet. If you have clothes on the right side in six months, it means you haven’t worn them, which means you don’t need them. If they are casual clothes, why not give them to someone who needs them?

There’s No Time Like The Present

Are you afraid to let go of things? What are you attached to that you don’t really need? This is strong reflection of your attitudes and beliefs, which are most likely connected to your past. If you can’t let go of things that don’t serve you, are you living in abundance? In whatever you’re purging, realize you’re making room for something new in your life.

Organize your spaces, get rid of excess clutter to make room for the new, drop people who drain your energy, surround yourself with positive and inspiring people, and create environmental cues. Why? Because not only will you feel great, but you’ll be amazed how when you start to line up your environments with who you want to become, it will create a snowball effect. All of the sudden you’re going to find yourself meeting like-minded people and opportunities will magically materialize that are in line with who you are being, and who you’re becoming. As you begin this process, it’s important to remember that it doesn’t have to be hard, in fact it should be fun—not something you have to do, but something you want to do.

Finally, since you generally end the day where you begin it, whether you do it after you wake up or before you go to sleep, make your bed. On one nightstand place your goals and read them before you go to bed and when you wake. On the other side, place a book or two of spiritual or inspiring texts that gives you wisdom on any page you open it to. Know that if these people achieved their goals, created beauty, or have changed the world, so too can you. It’s time to believe in yourself and your future as much as you have believed in your past.

(To read Part I, A New Year and a New You: An Inspiring and Expiring View of Our Environments, click here.)