Everyone wants to live in a good neighborhood. And for a good reason: External conditions matter to our health and well-being. 1[■] If the human mind is likened to a society, then the mindset — those beliefs, processes, cognitive (认知的) resources and habits that are readily accessible and familiar — represents the internal neighborhood.
Just as the external environment affects health, so does the internal environment. Research shows that crime in your neighborhood can impact health, even if you’re not directly impacted by the violence. 2[■] A chaotic or violent mindset may also have similar effects to those of a low-quality external neighborhood.
3[■] Just knowing that there is a nice park, a good restaurant, or a friendly neighbor in my neighborhood adds to my quality of life, even if I don’t use these resources that often. The same goes for the mental neighborhood. For example, merely recognizing my creative impulse as an important aspect of my internal makeup — acknowledging and valuing it — will improve my sense of well-being even when I am not actively involved in creative activity.
Community exercises much of its effect through physical and behavioral engagement: You go places and do things. 4[■] If you spend time at the local coffee house, you’re engaged in your community. If you spend time regularly practicing, say, an attitude of gratitude — an awareness of the good, fortunate things in your life — then your mental neighborhood includes a gratitude component.
Finding, moving into, and nurturing our connections to a high-quality neighborhood takes much effort, yet the health-related payoff is high. The same goes for the mental neighborhood. 5[■] Then you can bring these mind elements to the forefront of your consciousness through mental engagement and practice.