Emotional Spaces: My Favorite Place Is With You

One of the basic rules of good mental health is to be in positive emotional spaces where you can be yourself. These are places where the main rule is “live and let live.” They are environments where you can feel free and grow, but which are also connected to something or someone. We should all have a favorite place. An enriching space where we can flourish and grow emotionally.

The subject of emotional spaces is not new. Yet it is almost always only discussed within the work context. In fact, we are all aware that the everyday emotional atmosphere in our workplace affects us more than most other places. Our workplace does not always provide us with what we need to feel comfortable and get along with our colleagues. And that makes it difficult to do your best for an organization.

However, this interesting topic about emotional spaces goes beyond our work environment. To begin with, we must not forget a fundamental fact. The moment one or more people live together in the same room, they create a certain atmosphere. We all radiate different emotions. These join the emotions that the other residents radiate. And thus create an enriching, hostile or neutral atmosphere.

Some psychologists say that it often only takes about five minutes to perceive the emotional atmosphere in a home or family. This is enough to read the expressions, tone and communication style. An observer can deduce quite a lot from this information.

In addition, real estate agents say that potential buyers will know whether they like it or not within 30 seconds of entering a home. This is because our brains sometimes pick up on highly subjective emotional stimuli. Even if there are no other people around. Lighting, colors and other details are given emotional value based on our experiences and personality.

As you can see, this topic is not only very interesting, but also very comprehensive.

Emotional spaces – places where the heart resides

Herman Melville once said that the most beautiful places are not shown on a map. Two people who love each other in a mature way create the most beautiful spaces between them. They break down their own walls to open up to the other person. In their garden they plant respect and reap satisfaction. Each person invests in their own happiness. He knows that his own sense of well-being only benefits the other.

It may not seem like it, but it’s quite complicated to build positive and quality emotional spaces. One mistake that often leads to failure is thinking that you can only create a positive atmosphere by making others happy. However, these kinds of beliefs can make you yielding and submissive. At work, for example, this can lead to you not daring to take the initiative to propose positive changes.

In your relationship or family, it will make you become someone who always prioritizes the emotions of others over their own. Ultimately, this will create an atmosphere of pent-up frustration and bitter discontent. What we want to make clear with these examples is that positive emotional spaces require you to invest in yourself first. Take a moment to think about this.

If you already have all these qualities in you, they will condition your behavior and with it your emotional state of mind. It is therefore important to understand that all enriching emotional realms depend on the psychological profile of the people in them.

How to create emotionally generous, positive and strong spaces

The emotional spaces you find yourself in on a daily basis should be your favorite places. Those places where you can always be yourself. Where you know your ideas, values ​​and feelings are respected. These are confined spaces in which your relationships don’t feel confining. Instead, they resemble warm breezes that fill your sails with hope and give you a sense of freedom and space.

It’s not enough if people just love you, they have to love you well. To create generous and positive emotional spaces, we recommend using these simple strategies. Let’s take a look at them.

Four Strategies to Create a Generous, Emotional Atmosphere

Try to focus on the emotional state of those around you, but start with yourself. What affects emotional spaces the most is personal frustration, irritability, or defenses. Look closely at your own feelings and learn to control them. In this way you will learn not to take out your anger, fears or shortcomings on others.

• Positive reinforcement. Experts in emotional spaces tell us that, on average, people can accept one negative comment a day (such as a reproach, criticism, or warning) as long as we get four positive comments. However, too much positivity can feel fake or artificial.
• Constant, sincere and assertive communication. In addition to positive reinforcement and emotional encouragement, a quality emotional environment requires constant dialogue. All parties should actively listen and practice empathy and assertiveness.
• Facilitate the right connection. In a work environment, it is easy to get along with many people. However, an authentic environment (at work and at home) is when you feel that you have a connection with others. This is something that transcends simple politeness or even language. It is called mutual understanding.

Last but not least, we recommend learning to pay attention to the details. This is necessary to take good care of your emotional spaces. Pay close attention to these everyday subtleties. If you pay attention, you will be more attentive to the understanding, gratitude and comments of others, such as “thanks for being there,” “what would I do without you” or “my favorite place is with you.”

Think about these things every day so that you can create a much happier environment for yourself and others.