What Your Choice Of Accommodation Says About You.

Many of us go through life thinking of our accommodation as something just there in the background. But when you delve a little deeper, you soon discover that it’s more than that. It’s actually a reflection of who we are as people.

Psychologists have been interested in this question for a long time. What does our house say about us as people? Does it provide important insights?

It’s interesting how profoundly where we live can affect how we feel. You can see a new apartment on paper and believe that it offers everything you objectively need. But then when you actually move there, you find that you’re miserable and depressed. It doesn’t make sense. You have everything you want. So why isn’t the place you live sparking joy?

This post investigates this question and some of the other things that our accommodation says about us.

Our Stuff Is An Extension Of Ourselves

Whether people realize they’re doing it or not, many project their self-image into their surroundings. The external world becomes an extension of the self. And how it appears reflects the person on the inside. What’s more, the way a property looks is saying something about how the host wants others to receive them.

When it doesn’t look quite right, that’s when the negative feelings can start emerging. You feel uneasy – like something is wrong. But you can’t quite put your finger on it. You have a sense that it’s your home, but you don’t know why exactly.

Psychologists have a theory for why properties have such a profound impact on how we feel. It’s called “self-verification,” and it’s the idea that our homes should reflect how we see ourselves, even if that’s negative. When there’s a mismatch, and our homes only look positive or negative, that’s when bad feelings can enter the picture.

Minimalism Means You’re Happier

Currently, there’s a big movement towards minimalism – the idea that we don’t need much stuff to make us happy.

Many people, though, get the cart before the horse. Minimalism isn’t something you do to make yourself happy (although it can help). Instead, it is the result of a happy mind. The contented person doesn’t need to fill their accommodation with every type of embellishment. Just the basics will suffice.

You see this type of thing a lot among those who buy HDB resale properties. For them, it’s not about living in the biggest mansion in the suburbs of a wealthy city. It’s about being in the thick of it, living free, and having as little overhead as humanly possible.

When you talk to people who embrace minimalism, you discover something interesting: the less stuff they have, the better they feel. They’re able to think more clearly. Their lives aren’t full of all the usual clutter. And they have a sense that they’re in more control. They’re not spending all their time cleaning up the mess.

If you’re the sort of person who loves living a life of possibilities, decluttering is essential. If you get the urge to live somewhere else, you want to be able to do that. You don’t want to feel like you’re stuck in the same community and don’t have anywhere to go just because you have so many material possessions. You’re more of a free spirit.

Heirlooms Mean You’re Hanging Onto The Past

Living arrangements are shifting. Families are changing. The nuclear unit is no longer the majority.

For many people, therefore, heirlooms are becoming a thing of the past. They made sense when people lived traditional lives. But in today’s world, they seem a little anachronistic and out of place. It just doesn’t make sense anymore.

If you have heirlooms in your property, it could mean that you’re trying to hang onto a past that no longer exists. Sacred objects seem like a necessity to the people who cling to them, but they’re often at odds with who you are as a person. Hanging only old heirlooms is a way of remaining attached to relationships that are no longer relevant to your life.

Think about how strange it is, for instance, to maintain a formal dining room. While some families still use them, they’re the exception, not the rule. Most people live atomized lives where traditional structures have broken down. Families very rarely sit down together for a meal. The dining room goes entirely unused. And it’s a tragedy.

So what does your accommodation say about you? And is it sparking joy in your life or bringing you down?