The Power of Self-Managed, Familiar Places

Having some control over the places where they find themselves, and those spaces-in-use being at least somewhat familiar, is very comforting to people, especially when other aspects of how they’re living their lives are beyond their control. Being able to customize conditions that are already familiar can go a long way toward keeping stress in check and boosting psychological wellbeing.

As 2022 starts with continued pandemic-related uncertainties swirling about, we need to embrace the familiar whenever we can and make sure people feel that they can, at least to some extent, self-manage the places where they are.

What does self-managing mean in practice? In this uncertain time, people will particularly welcome being able to open and close windows and blinds, choose where they work or otherwise spend time, move screens or something similar to give themselves a little more privacy, fiddle with temperature and ventilation settings, and slightly shift furniture from one location to another. Whether you own or manage a home or a workplace or somewhere else, try to make sure that people have whatever freedom is reasonable for how they use the spaces around themselves.

Predictable is positive (for our minds and often our pocketbooks), particularly in times of general uncertainty.

Even in the most predictable of times, we favor the familiar in the physical worlds that surround us.

Being around and experiencing familiar things generally makes us comfortable and boosts our mood. We prefer to look at art we find familiar, for example.

Familiar doesn’t mean exactly the same as other things we’ve seen, however. It means that most of the elements in a picture are predictable, but not all of them, for example. If paintings of the British countryside are your thing, for instance, add new art that features rolling hills, etc., but don’t be surprised if you feel like purchasing an image completed with green rolling fields and a few purple cows. Make sure those purple cows find a way into your living room.

A bonus from being in a familiar sort of environment: When the world around us is relatively familiar, odds are we’ll be in a more trusting mood.

We can relax when we believe we can predict what's coming next, and it’s reasonable to assume that whatever we’re about to experience will be pleasant. That’s why being on a gently curving path in beautiful, peaceful gardens boosts our mood.

Physical things that are familiar can bring to mind all sorts of positive memories we associate with times past. But object-associated memories can be a reason to make a change as well. If something really negative happened somewhere — you learned of an unexpected death while sitting in your breakfast nook, for example — changes in the décor may be in order. You might consider changing the upholstery on the seats in that nook. The physical changes won’t eliminate that negative experience, but, ultimately, a design modification will weaken links that bring it quite as forcefully top-of-mind.

Controlled and familiar places can support a wonderful future, even if our now is uncertain.