- Do you find it hard to simply stop and take some rest during the day?
- Do you tell yourself that you need to keep on working, and keep on forcing yourself even though you feel exhausted?
- Or perhaps you find yourself waking up in the morning still feeling tired, not feeling that you have had a restful sleep, and having to drag yourself out of bed?
- Does it feel that at times you have the weight of the world on your shoulders, with so much duty and responsibility to take care of, feeling over-stressed and overworked?
If any of this sounds familiar to you, what can you do in order to relax?
Creating balance
We are all programmed to be productive, to work hard in order to achieve success and happiness. But there has to be a balance in order to stay healthy and well. Seriously though, if you don’t give yourself a break, (and that is a break for both your mind and your body), you will find you are struggling to keep up with everything, and eventually you yourself will break. On the whole we don’t tend to prioritise sitting down and resting. And by resting this needs to be true rest, and not simply taking a 5 minute breather now and again.
Resting doesn’t always mean sleeping
It can also mean sitting comfortably, and not doing much at all. And relaxation can include the enjoyment of being playful, of doing something that brings you fun. As well as sometimes enjoying the company of others – people that fill you with joy, people that inspire and motivate you, and people you enjoy spending time with and having fun with.
Commit to yourself
In order to keep in balance you need to make a special effort to ensure you commit to giving yourself proper rest and relaxation time. This includes time each and every day, and in order to do that you can start with asking yourself the following questions:
- How do you spend your rest and relaxation time?
- Do you like how you spend this time, does it make you feel happy?
- If not, are there any changes that you can make?
You may have to give something up in order to take special time for yourself. In order to put yourself first, and take care of your needs, your health, your life, you need to stay grounded in your desires, in your heart, and in what makes you happy.
Think of ways to spend more time resting and relaxing
Perhaps this could be simply watching TV, meditating, listening to podcasts or music. It could even include working quietly on a craft project, or reading a book. Maybe creative writing, drawing or even journaling. But something that slows you down, gets you in the flow, but forces you to do one thing at a time, and not multitasking a number of priorities all at once.
As you learn more ways to incorporate rest and relaxation into your days, you will find you have more energy and will be able to accomplish more of the things you want to get done in life. You will find you have better focus, more energy and have more zest for life. Make this your priority and see what happens!
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