As my life was going to change dramatically, I started to reflect upon where and how I spent my time. It is an interesting crossroads, to pause and review your life in detail. I discovered how difficult the notion is to be in touch with your own needs and desires.
The hardest thing I found was becoming comfortable doing nothing. Drinking a cup of green tea and looking at the view without feeling like I should be doing something else.
It is ok to sit and read. It is ok to take the time to exercise, to do fitness to a good standard you need time. Its ok to immerse yourself in the things you just haven’t had time to do, in my case this is writing, drawing and photography. Working and the hum drum of life’s routine just dominates everything and leaves little time to achieve the desires and wants of our now time. Time is so critical in our ability to live our lives right now.
I am lucky as I can now sit back, ponder, and reflect upon life. Who thought taking it easy would be difficult to adjust to? I’m naturally an active person who likes to socialise, keep busy, rise to a challenge and be productive. I am learning to just accept life flows and to go with it and to appreciate every minute.
Just some random thoughts – words of wisdom? (well I have lived a few years)
So how can you relax?
Try a classic relaxation technique, I have always been fond of and preach to many about. Breathing! If you feel at all anxious, worried, stressed, or unable to relax, breath deeply. If you breath slowly and use your full lung capacity, these feeling have no alternative but to just disappear.
You could try visualization, to take yourself off to a happy place or learning to orient yourself and to feel connected to your surroundings. See, listen, feel, smell and taste.
Or Progressive muscle relaxation where you teach yourself to relax and calm your mind and body. Focus on areas of your body and recognise your tense areas, locate, and relax from head to toe.
Give yourself time and stop worrying about the little things you still need to do.
Of an evening we flop in front of the tv along with our technology and not actually engage in what we are doing. We totally zone out, this is dissociation, a period when our minds are exhausted and overwhelmed, we take ourselves out of the situation. The fact is we become no longer able to relax, we use technology as a form of distraction. We have got use to looking for distractions that we have become unable to cope with an evening with ourselves and to just relax.
Growing from a kid to a teenager and then into an adult is hard and a challenge which is well worth the effort. Build a foundation for your life and take charge of your own direction to make yourself stronger and in control. Go for it and find yourself.
Being younger and career driven is important, if you have a desire to achieve and are rising to the challenge of climbing the career ladder, this is the time to do it. However, don’t forget you have a life outside work; you can do both if you balance it correctly.
For those of us that have got to a stage where work is not all we live for or want. Then don’t take it so seriously, I dropped from being a manager in charge of 20 people to doing the day job and what a relief, no more people issues and playing the corporate political games.
Although we think we are irreplaceable, we so aren’t. We are a headcount and even if our replacement can’t do the job quite as well as we can, they can still complete the tasks. Not long after we have gone, we are almost forgotten, that is in a works capacity if not our personality!
Tackling a healthier lifestyle
It doesn’t matter from where you are starting, just start. You can’t expect to stay fit and strong in older age if you don’t help yourself stay fit and strong while you are young.
So where do you start. Stand up more, walk for a little longer, eat just a little less and healthier. The start doesn’t have to be dramatic, just small changes and grow, start to feel the changes and create the time for yourself.
Posture is so important. Stand, sit and walk straight. If you neglect your posture when you are young you will show it when you are older. How many older folks do you see stooped over and walking with a limp! Put your heels against a wall and stand up, now really stand up! Put your shoulders back against the wall and your head so it touches the wall, this is how much you are slouching!
If working in an office, well good luck with your posture as it is extremely hard to keep a good working position. Listen to the advice you get from a desk assessment. Move every 20 minutes, reposition regularly and get up and walk around occasionally. To sit at a desk for a 7 hrs working day is just not good for us so help yourself. Stretch in the mornings and when you finish work. Yoga is the best, you don’t need to do a class, learn some of the positions and work this into your morning and evening routine. I use an app called Down Dog as it talks you through the moves, the correct posture and your breathing.
Travel adventures 