The Importance of Claiming Your Space at Home
A conveyor belt of friends, family, and clients have come to me with this statement over the years:
“I feel like I don’t have a place at home to feel inspired or focused enough to write, paint, draw, do finances, work, do yoga, etc., etc.
Raise your virtual hand 👋if you feel like this is currently you, or you’ve felt this at some point in time.
Photo by Brett Sayles from Pexels
I see you.
Claiming space at home is a challenge for many. While it’s more common for people who live with others - such as partners, roommates, and kids...it’s also a universal challenge. People who live alone experience this too!
Let’s start by unraveling this with one simple concept: claiming your space all starts with mindset.
The mindset that I hear people get into goes something like this: “once X happens, then I can do Y...because Z”. A few examples:
Once my roommate moves out then I can write more because I won’t be caught in small talk conversations.
Once I tidy up my living room then I can do yoga because I’ll have more space to spread out.
Once my kids go off to daycare then I can organize my finances because I’ll have the energy to focus.
Once I clean my house then I can focus on my hobbies because I’ll no longer have a nagging feeling pulling at me to get these tasks done.
Photo credit: Styled Stock Society
While overcoming challenges in order for your optimum conditions to be met are valid, they don’t necessarily have to be total roadblocks for you to get you to your goals. When you’re not living your best home life, not enjoying your hobbies, or not taking care of essential tasks - it’s possible that there’s an energetic imbalance at home. Something is pulling you out of the place in which you operate best.
Sometimes these distractions aren't necessarily something to eliminate or overcome, but it’s something to manage. Especially if you cohabitate with others. Chances are, there isn’t a space at home for you to retreat to, that embodies who you are, what you resonate with, or that carves that space out that screams “me time!”.
Photo credit: Styled Stock Society
If you don’t have a space at home that you can go to for specific practices, I encourage you to find one. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a large space. It can be a corner of a room decorated with items that uplift and inspire you. It can be a favorite chair that you curl up into to get lost in your latest read. Perhaps it’s an area outdoors where you lay your yoga mat and know that once you go through your first savasana flow that you’re in your element. A space. Dedicated just for you.
When you learn to hold space for yourself at home, you begin to create a special self care energy that your brain associates with that dedicated space. Have you ever had a long stressful day and on your drive home, you immediately feel a sense of relief when turning the corner, just blocks away from home? That’s your brain associating that it’s “you” time. Time to let go and relax. Imagine if you dropped into a deeper layer than that, once you’re at home? Instead of all of these conditions having to be met in order for you to step into your creative flow, the space can be available to you. Now, every time you walk past that space, you can reclaim your personal energy at home.
