Maybe it's time to give yourself a break

Run, run, RUN!

It’s become the word of our era. We run for our work, we run for our personal growth, we generally run to accomplish things and we always want more time. The pace of our daily routine is crazy and sometimes we just cannot do it anymore. We find that we have no energy; even though we took a nap in the evening or we just laid on the couch and watched some TV. We feel totally exhausted. But are we doing the right thing to recharge our batteries?

Most of us believe that sleeping for as many hours as we can or just standing somewhere doing something that doesn’t require any physical activity is revitalizing and refreshing. But unfortunately, it’s not. Resting and sleeping are two different things and we tend to confuse them. Overworking and fatigue cause stress. And what we are thinking many times to confront it, that a good night’s sleep will solve the problem. But instead of waking up with high energy levels, we just wonder when we are going to sleep again.

So, what happened?

We cannot even begin to estimate how much damage we are doing to ourselves with fatigue and exhaustion. And most of the time we have the notion that sleep or stopping everything will do the trick and save us. But as we continue to believe that, we feel more and more exhausted. The trick here is active rest and recuperate. Although the body – and that’s the truth – most of the time do not have the energy to continue and needs rest, the brain as well must follow and relax.

So, we need to develop different approaches. Control is one thing. And by saying that, I mean having the power to decide how you will spend your free time, energy, and attention. We all can find some time for us to rest a while but we treat rest as a luxury or a diversion because so many things are happening. But things will always be happening. The one thing that is crucial to remember is that if you collapse, it’s because you did not find time for you.

Relaxation techniques are some things you have to develop. Maybe by doing yoga or reading a book or something effortlessly engaging and diverting; something that will offer you some challenges of a kind. Get a new hobby! Find the time in the day, let’s say 10 minutes or so, and say that you will not think about anything. There are, in fact, apps that help you with that! Detach mentally from work or any other obligations and tune in with your breathing. You can do it. Listen to your body more. Your body always speaks to you and has the answers. So be careful and pay attention. Most of the time we forget how important the body that carries us is.

Sometimes they are the people around us that drain our power. It doesn’t mean anything how much you rest as long as there are individuals near you that are toxic and miserable. It’s easy to find them out. They are always seeing the negative in every situation, they are yelling even with little stuff and in general, they are not trying to make you better rather than drag you to their own black thinking. So quickly move away or if you can’t, just be near them as little as you can and surround yourself with people that make you smile.

In conclusion, you must think of you as a whole entity when you are trying to recharge and avoid a meltdown. Treat your body as you are in a temple because it’s your most valuable thing you have. Start doing more physical things like walking. Use positive dialogues and ease your mind. Create focus to yourself and visualize how lucky you are that you are breathing right now. Get rid of the toxicity around you – as much as you can. Take rest as seriously as you take food. It’s not a luxury, it’s a necessity; and you own it to yourself because as always and never forget that you deserve only the best. Try it!