Mindfully Coping with Noise Pollution by Julie Chiu

Approximately two months ago, I was asked by a representative for a property management company to write an article for their monthly newsletter. I was honored and said, “Sure! Thank you!” I recently found out that because of certain reasons my article will not be published in their newsletter. Why let a good article go to waste, eh? So here it is. Enjoy! 🙂

It seems like there’s always some type of construction going on in Hong Kong. Normally, you don’t notice it and it doesn’t affect life until it is in your building or close to your building. How to deal with this situation?

Here is a story: A woman left her stressful corporate life and moved to Bali for one month to meditate, relax and perform yoga. She rented out a private bungalow in a remote area to have the peace, quite and seclusion she so desperately wanted. Everything that first day was amazing, peaceful and blissful. But that first night as she was getting ready for bed the stray dogs in the area kept barking and howling. She tossed and turned all night. First she was irritated, then annoyed, then yelled out in anger and frustration. The dogs kept barking and howling.

The next day she went to her meditation class exhausted and frazzled. She had a horrible time meditating and her teacher noticed this. The teacher asked her what the matter was and she told him about the horrible night she had listening to the dogs. She noticed how refreshed and well rested the teacher was and asked him if he lived in another town and if she there were any bungalows near him for rent.

The teacher told her he was staying in a place not too far from hers. “It is not the dogs that are the problem, it is your mind and how you perceive the situation.” He then described to her that it was her negative thoughts about the dogs (“Those crazy dogs need to stop howling all night!”) that created the negative feelings towards her situation (anger and frustration) which then created the negative behavior (insomnia) and the negative result (exhaustion). If she desired a more positive result (peace and bliss) she needed to start being more aware of her limiting thoughts and change them into more productive ones.

She thanked the teacher for his insight and that night when she heard the dogs again she became more mindful of the thoughts creeping back up, “Those crazy dogs!” However, this time after she was more mindful of these initial types of thoughts she was able to soon replace them with, “These dogs are communicating something to each other which must be beneficial for their survival. I can appreciate the need for this type of sound in this type of environment.” With acceptance she was able to embrace the situation for what it was (dogs barking and howling) without putting any type of negative or positive attachment towards it. She was able to then have a calmer feeling which helped her to sleep (behavior) and feel more relaxed (result) the following day.

Notice how some neighbors in your building really complain about the noise while others find a way to live with it? Why is that? How can some people experience the same thing differently? One neighbor can perceive noise pollution as something that is part of living in Hong Kong’s concrete jungle,  is not phased by it (“Another person renovating their flat, let’s see, where are my earplugs?”), and is able to move on with his/her day. Whereas, another neighbor might view noise pollution as something that is so intolerable they become so angered by it he/she calls the police, complains to family, friends, co-workers, neighbors about it, etc. If these negative thoughts towards noise pollution perpetuates, it will lead to an uncomfortable state of living.

The problem is not noise pollution. This cannot be controlled, just like you cannot control the weather or dogs barking. Fortunately, you can change how you perceive the noise. One of the things you are in charge of is your thoughts.  When your thoughts change your feelings change, then your behaviors change to the noise in your environment, which will lead to a better result.

With mindfulness, or awareness, you can become free from the negative attachment towards it. The great thing about awareness is that you can apply mindfulness to all aspects of your daily life and free yourself from self-inflicted suffering. Why perpetuate self-inflicted suffering when you can end it?

Julie Chiu, RN, MS(Hons), CHC, IC® is a certified health coach, seminar leader, trainer, nurse, and pioneer of mindfulness-based coaching in Asia-Pacific. She is Hong Kong’s only Certified Health Coach (National Society of Health Coaches), Intrinsic Coach®, Certified Intuitive Eating Pro® Counselor and Mindful Living Behavioral Specialist.

Julie is known as the “How To” Lady on breaking free from unhealthy lifestyle habits and helping clients achieve personal success and freedom through creating positive behavioral changes in their lives through individual coaching, corporate seminars, and group workshops. In addition to coaching clients, she writes for online and print media and conducts lectures and workshops on mindful living (weight management, stress reduction, effective communication, etc.), law of attraction, and evidence-based health coaching.

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