2023 Author: Katelyn Chandter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 13:08
Time runs very fast, the rhythm is crazy, and life turns into a continuous whirlwind. How to reboot, accumulate energy and stop running in circles? How to live slowly?
Too much falls on us. Information. Responsibilities. Affairs. Promises. Events. The words "must" and "must". The hands of the clock rush forward like crazy. Life turns into a continuous whirlwind. The most interesting thing is that we do not need much of this flow.
Where is the Stop button here? What can I do to take a short break and recharge the batteries? Recover. Realize yourself. Let's tell.
This article is about how to make a Day for Yourself, get the right rest and not waste your weekend.
Why all this haste and running in a circle, because our eyes do not see, and our ears do not hear, busy not with the beauty of the world, but with insignificant trifles? If thoughts rush rapidly, rushing to an unfulfilled promise, then to an unfinished business, then to an unfinished book. And all the "under-" … Modern people do not live "here and now." Many are mired in a stream of hundreds of cases and terabytes of information. You need to give yourself a break.
Perhaps this will be a revelation, but many of us do not know how to rest at all. Admit it to yourself if this is the case. As in the society of anonymous someone: to admit that there is a problem, then half to solve it. Cleaning the house, cooking, shopping, renovation, trips to the country house - this is not at all the same. For those who work hard, it is important to have a good rest. Completely shut down for a while, then again to work one hundred percent.
A person who does nothing will never achieve anything. An eternally busy person will not achieve much either.
How to properly rest
Rest is underestimated by many. Contrary to popular belief, it does not interfere with work. Quite the opposite. The best of the best take a lot of rest. In addition, the rest has many faces. Doing a completely different thing, switching your thoughts from one to another, is also a kind of relaxation. Example. If you belong to a large caste of people whose working day starts at 9 am and ends at 6 pm, then you usually come home exhausted. Often you bring thoughts of work with you. And this is a big mistake. Don't let work cross your doorstep. You won't get any benefit from being half here and half there.
Battery recharging will be more effective if thoughts of work magically evaporate on the stairs leading to the elevator or to the door of your house.
Try this type of rest on weekdays:
• on the way home, turn off your mobile phone, and keep it in this state for at least another hour, because you need to relax and recuperate;
• to have a rest, it is enough to mentally switch. What exactly will you do at home in the first hour after your return, it doesn't matter, the main thing is to do it one hundred percent and one hundred percent mentally be here and now;
• play the role of a family man diligently and conscientiously, forget that you are a manager or an artist;
Day for Yourself program
How do you like the idea of a "mental detox"? To live one day when you will be cleansed not so much physically (which is what many detox programs are aimed at), but mentally. A day of finding peace of mind, immersion in yourself and good rest. Let it be Saturday or Sunday - the main thing is to devote it entirely to yourself.
Detox is about cleansing, releasing, and resting. From everything. For body and soul.
Preparation
In order for you to have a good rest on the Day For Yourself, it is better to prepare.
• Take a pen and paper, set a timer for 10 minutes and write down everything that comes to mind: this way you will understand what you want from mental detox - to do a “good” thing, enjoy loneliness and silence, shake off fatigue or restore energy. Or maybe all at once;
• Prepare a to-do list to keep close at hand;
• redo small and not-so-so things so that they do not “pull on your soul”: go to the store (at the same time buy food there that you will need tomorrow), do your laundry, call everyone you promised;
• tell your family about your plans - explain that you need to rest and that after a Day for Yourself, you will become a more energized, calm, harmonious and even happy person. Share all the details and make sure that you are understood correctly so that no one is offended by the request not to bother you tomorrow;
• go to bed early so that physical sensations and fatigue do not distract from the main thing - enjoying freedom.
Now that everything is ready, you can start. Rest, recharging your batteries and maximizing your productivity afterwards - all this awaits you. Try to consciously live every minute of the Day for Yourself.
1. Tune in to "silence on the air"
A calm, quiet environment has a beneficial therapeutic effect. Our brains get rest and work less hard.
But from the minute when the alarm clock starts ringing in the morning, indicating the beginning of the day, until the moment when our eyes close before going to bed, we experience attacks of noise: conversations of people, sounds of the city, hum outside the window. The body responds to noise with stress. If the noise level reaches outrageous levels, it can lead to mental fatigue, anxiety and even aggression.
So, what is the plan of action for the Self-Day?
Go to a quiet place (park, square) or out of town, into nature.
Find a spot near the water. A tired brain gets a chance to heal itself in the wild, especially near water. The aquatic environment, be it the sea, river, lake, or fountain, creates the perfect “sleepy” background that allows the brain to rest.
Block out the noise. You still need to get to a quiet place. And if you go by bus or train, you can forget about calmness. There are two ways out: either plan your route so that you can reach your destination on foot or by bike, or buy yourself some earplugs. Seriously.
Use electrical appliances to a minimum. The noises are too loud from the food processor, blender, washing machine, hairdryer. Try not to approach them on a mental detox day. Yes, yes, everything is as you thought: it is better to wash and dry your hair in the evening.
Spend a day without music. Put the players aside and do not turn on the radio (even where the presenters barely talk).
2. Plunge into the information vacuum
The same as about noise, let's say, physical, tangible, we can say about information noise. He accompanies us constantly: news on radio and TV, social media feeds with tons of entertaining and often useless content, discussion of some events (or worse, rumors) with family, friends or colleagues. Informational detox will make you forget about it.
• No social media. During this day, you will understand that you are used to consuming information in huge volumes. And often. This is akin to addiction. So you are tempted to flip through the feed or look at Twitter for at least five minutes to find out how things are going there in the world? No no and one more time no.
• Ask loved ones to call you only as a last resort. Switch the phone to vibro, or better generally approach it as little as possible.
• Another request for relatives: not to tell you what happened in the world. Today you should not be affected by any events (except perhaps an earthquake with an epicenter a kilometer from your home). You will find out everything tomorrow. If you want, informational detox can seriously reduce your "info addiction" in just one day.
• Do not listen to conversations in transport or outside the window. We all do it involuntarily. The day is only yours for yourself, so forget about the existence of other people (as much as possible).
3. Conduct an anti-stress thought audit
Interrupt the flow of negative thoughts. Constantly arising negative thoughts and moods over time create a kind of beaten path in the mind. They gradually become deeper and deeper, negative thoughts, self-criticism, suppressed and anxious moods appear more often, and it becomes more and more difficult to get rid of them. These triggers can be so subtle that you sometimes don't even know about them.
Even if something went wrong (an urgent meeting or business is on the horizon), do not be discouraged. Better do the exercise.
Think about something good that happened to you on this day or a long time ago. Concentrate on the sensations. Do you feel pride, excitement, love, satisfaction? Do you want to smile from the memory? Focus on your facial muscles as your lips fold into a smile. Where else in the body do you feel these sensations? Are you feeling warmer? Yes?
Right now, neurons in your brain have formed new pathways to happiness. Small bulldozers widen the channels for joy. Remember this!
4. Train the skill of mindfulness
Mindfulness has a huge impact on our health, well-being, and happiness. This has been proven, firstly, by thousands of years of practice, and secondly, by scientists, our contemporaries.
You must admit that in the 21st century we especially lack some elusive, but important element of our life. Sometimes we begin to guess that we lack ourselves - our willingness or ability to be present in our own life and live it as if it really means something. And in that only moment that we will ever have, that is, here and now.
We are worthy and able to live our life that way.
A day is needed for Himself to calm down the restless consciousness. First, try to turn off the internal dialogue from time to time and not "drown" in thoughts and harsh judgments: this relieves anxiety and anxiety. Second, focus on the present - constantly bring yourself back to the moment "here and now":
• do not worry about the past, do not make plans for the future;
• concentrate only on one thing or one thought - if too much information is processed in the mind, working memory is overloaded and we feel stressed;
• Feel the world - calmly and without judgment - directly through your senses: what smells are around you, what do you see, what do you feel, how the food tastes?
Do what you normally do - drink coffee, brush your teeth, walk, but try to be mindful - the source.
Exercise "Mindfulness Walk"
On a Day For Yourself, try this exercise. It will help you realize that most of life, full of good and bad experiences, just passes by. Unfortunately for many people this is the case. We are missing something good, which means that life is not as rich as it could be. It's time to do something about it. Ready?
Leave your mobile at home and go for a walk. Notice how attentive you can be. Listen to sounds, focus on them. Look around - where the sun is shining from. Take a look at the shadows it casts. Study closely everything that catches your eye. It's the same with smells. Most of us are always busy and don't pay attention to smells. If you meet someone along the way, make eye contact, smile - the day will be better for both of you. Look to the mind. Where are your thoughts going? Bring them back to the present moment. Focus on your walking rhythm. Let the unconscious take over your worries and keep focusing on where you are now.
5. Allow yourself to be lazy
The Japanese have the word karoshi, which means "death from overtime." This is not a joke. The Japanese work 12-16 hours a day, sit until the last, never leave before the boss. This leads to such sad consequences. It comes to the point that from fatigue they fall asleep right on the streets. Photographer Adrian Storey catches such shots on the streets of Tokyo. It looks creepy.
But laziness can be called one of the conditions for productivity. It seems to us that lying on the couch is an impermissible luxury, because you can do so much. The brain "thinks" differently: the efficiency of intellectual activity falls when the brain works to its limit, without rest. This is why during mental detox you will spend a lot of time lazy. How much - decide for yourself. And it is better to be guided by the situation, without burdening yourself with plans: after all, you have a day of rest.
Doing nothing is a great way to catch fresh ideas and solutions to long-standing problems.
6. Say no to suppliers of emotional junk
Protect yourself from emotional junk of any kind on this day. What it is? Part of the negative is messages from childhood. The other part - echoes of outdated or indisputable religious, philosophical, moral convictions. The third part is social attitudes.
Here's an example of such mental garbage. The day has been long and you are tired. And then a big bag of self-doubt and self-deprecating thoughts appears on the doorstep. “Only a muddler can lose a card with a salary! they scoff. “What kind of slob is capable of living in such a mess? You should be ashamed! Did you call your friend back? What ingratitude! If in the end you have no friends left, know you deserve it! " As a rule, you let these thoughts into your consciousness, and they do their "dirty work" there. In addition to the fact that this should not be allowed at all, on the Day For Yourself, they are strictly taboo.
• Stop the flow of negativity before it becomes a part of you by telling it, "I'm sorry, I only accept rainbow thoughts." And while it sounds ridiculous, the advice really works.
• People around us - even those we love - bring their trash: everyday worries, gossip, minor troubles and criticism. The easiest way is to ignore this negativity.
• Deeds that consume time and do not give you positive emotions are also considered junk on the Day For Yourself. Cross them off your schedule.
7. Taking care of the body
Mens sana in corpore sano. In a healthy body healthy mind. To spend this day as useful as possible, take care of your "vessel for the soul": eat healthy food, avoid fast food, juices, fatty foods and sweets. Go for a run or yoga class in the morning. Take care of your skin, hair, try something from Ayurveda. Here are some options.
• Drink cool (but not ice cold) water with mint, cucumber, and lime.
• Make an eye bath with clarified ghee. Eyes get more and more tired: you have to spend a lot of time at the computer. Oil eye bath relieves tension and improves vision. Dip 4 cotton balls in ghee and let them soak completely. Place two balls on each eye, lie down and relax for 15 minutes.
• Drink Yogi's milk at night. It improves sleep and provides clarity of mind upon awakening. The drink is rich in antioxidants and helps those who have trouble sleeping. You will need 1 tsp. ghee (ghee), ½ tsp. turmeric, ½ tsp cardamom, nutmeg, saffron and, in fact, a glass of milk. Combine everything except the saffron and heat: at the end add a couple of strands of saffron. You can also whisk the mixture in a blender for hot milk with foam.
• Moisturize skin with coconut oil. Firstly, the feeling is like a vacation in the tropics, only it costs less. Secondly, coconut oil cools, nourishes and detoxifies the skin. Gentle self-massage with coconut oil will not only allow you to slow down, relax and cool your ardor, but also calm the nervous system.
Do you have time to notice life?.
Question: do we even have time to feel something - happiness, love, pleasure from delicious food and a walk, from our thoughts?.. Do we notice the starry sky and spring streams? There are more painful questions: do we see our children grow up and parents grow old? How do friends move away and disappear from our lives?..
• Sometimes you have to stop and just watch.
• As if for the first time.
• Take a break.
• Replenish internal reserves.
And after you've gotten a good rest and recovered, it's time to act. Marshall Goldsmith offers a good thing in Triggers. Every day ask yourself: "Have I done everything possible in order to be happy?" There are, of course, many questions: substitute what you need - to be healthy, to find meaning in today's work, to create positive relationships with people, to be involved. These questions sharpen our perception of what we can change. We gain control and responsibility by parting with the role of “victim of circumstance”.
The most interesting thing is that this is not a passive question (like “Was I happy today?”), But an active one. Asking yourself if you have made the effort today to achieve your goals, you are accepting responsibility for your life. Motivate yourself to do something. By focusing on what a person can control, significant results can be achieved.
Perhaps when you read this and comprehend it, you will feel a little sad. How many opportunities to taste and smell, see, hear and touch, feel and live have you missed because you are in a hurry all the time. But stop being sad! You have a choice: to continue thoughtlessly living your life or to live here and now, enjoying every moment, slowly and giving yourself the right to rest.
Tame your "butterflies in your head" fluttering from thought to thought and in a hurry to live. And then your consciousness will become not a seething ocean, but a calm lake, in the reflection of which every detail of your life is visible. And you will not be afraid of any storms and winds.