Ambience Design: Social Conditioning

We influence the external environment and we are also influenced by the external environment as well. If we live in a society where majority of us have the habit of going to the temples then there is a good likelihood that we develop a habit of going to the temple. Similarly, if we live in a society where majority are smokers then there is a high probability for us to become the smokers. Such is the influence of the society on the individuals irrespective of the merit/demerit of the influence.

By default, an ordinary person mimics and follows the pattern of the society. But, the ordinary person will become extraordinary the moment he becomes aware of the underneath force that operates in the patterns of the social conditioning. It is good to follow the ones that have positive influence on you and discard those which do not serve you. This is a conscious decision on our part where we filter and selectively pick up the patterns which aid in our growth.

Let us take for examples few of the commonly followed patterns.

Going for the regular medical check-ups to stay healthy

Taking eight glasses of water per day

Oats for the healthy morning breakfast

Yoga helps you to reduce the stress level

The above are the commonly followed patterns in the society. Since, the patterns are widely accepted; it is natural for an individual to mimic the patterns. But, we have a choice to work on each of the above patterns based on its own merits/demerits.

For example, going for a regular medical check-up was not a pattern followed in the society few hundred years before. This has evolved over a period of time and becomes a pattern now. People were healthy hundred years before without going for the medical check-ups. Even in the present times, there are group of people who have not visited the doctor once in their lifetime. Definitely, they operate on a different belief system which is stronger than the one imposed by the social conditioning. In fact, in my personal experience, I followed the pattern of visiting the doctor, a decade before. But, I dropped the pattern when I made a conscious decision based on the merits/demerits. Obviously, the deviation from the mainstream path is due to the change in my belief structure. I started to see the improvement in my health condition just by following certain yoga practices. Over a period of time, I developed a belief structure where prevention is better than the cure by means of health care management.

Again taking eight glasses of water per day is good or bad but nobody knows. It is just a concept imposed on to us. We need to test ourselves to work on the merits/demerits and make a conscious decision. There is no need to blindly follow because the books say it is good to follow it as a habit. For my body condition, this may work but may not be the case for someone else.

So, it is good to become of aware of all those patterns and make a conscious decision to filter out and adopt those which work in our favour. Simply discard the rest even though they are widely accepted and practiced widely by the society. By doing so, you are becoming responsible for your own health and obviously you are not only spawning a healthy lifestyle but you are consciously designing your own Health. You are the DESINGER of your OWN HEALTH.