Color is woven into our emotions and influences how we think, how we feel and how we behave. This is the power of colour and the power of colour psychology.
Color comes in through our eyes but it makes its way into our hearts and when we connect to color, we connect to how we feel, and we can start to connect to who we really are.
Color and our Mood
Imagine if we just switched off colour. It’s as if we’re switching off our feelings and we would lose our most innate and fundamental means of self-expression.
Don’t you find it fascinating that we are the only species who can change our outer layer to any color we want, at any time. We can just open our wardrobe or go into a store and buy a new layer. We can use color as if it’s a magic wand, to boost how we feel, wherever we are, whatever we are doing, in an instant!
Green for Peace & Tranquility
Let’s explore the color green.
We find green very reassuring. We know where there is green, we can find water and food. For us it equals life – we have a very strong connection to green.
What’s also interesting is that we can see more variations of green than any other colour emerald, forest green, olive, sage, khaki, mint, aqua, jade, pine, chartreuse, pistachio to name a few.
On the whole, we find greens restful and calming, like the green of a forest or lying on the grass can give us a feeling of peace and tranquillity.
If you like your greens to give you an uplifting feeling, then look for greens like mint and aqua. They are invigorating and refreshing. They are the pick-me-up greens.
Mint is bright, clear and lively while aqua, just hearing the word, is likely to instantly transport us to the tropics with visions of diving into the beautiful warm aqua sea. We feel refreshed, invigorated, alive. It’s a great color to have in the bathroom as your morning, waking up color.
A Green for Everyone
If you like soft greens but find that the aqua might be a bit too lively and not restful enough for you, look out for the soft, quiet greens like sage, pear green, pistachio, lavender leaf green – any green that is light and soft. It’s the softness of the hue that makes it relaxing, soothing and calming.
If you find the more saturated greens your thing then look out for green such as emerald, olive, khaki, jade, pine, grass, forest or bottle green. With these greens we can feel a sense of balance, reassurance and peace.
Add Green to your Day
1. Take a walk in the woods or lay on the grass. Being surrounded by and connecting to nature can help us to rejuvenate and recharge.
2. Bring the outdoors in through plants. Research shows that certain plants can help purify the air and could help in reducing stress, creating feelings of comfort.
3. If you’re not used to wearing green, then start small – add an accessory like a scarf, a belt or a handbag.
4. To get you motivated in the mornings, try bringing greens like aqua and aquamarine into the bathroom to invite in refreshing and invigorating feelings.
5. Try green in an unexpected way. Have fun experimenting!
Karen Haller is the leading international authority in the field of Behavioural Color & Design Psychology. She believes in using color as a way to connect us back to our authentic self and to use color for positive good and positive change, not only for ourselves but each other and the planet. She is the author of Amazon no. 1 bestseller The Little Book of Colour, How to Use Colour Psychology to Transform Your Life. Available in 14 languages. You can find Karen spreading the colour love over on Instagram.
You can download the first chapter of “The Little Book of Colour” for free here.
