WHY RELAX WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE TIME FOR IT?

“Tension is who you think you have to be. Relaxation is who you are”

How many times has it happened to you that you have an endless number of pending obligations and feel that even if a miracle occurs you won’t be able to fulfill everything on time? In that precise moment is when taking a few minutes to silence your mind, relax, and “chill out’’ is necessary. Believe me, your body will thank you and you will be more efficient. In the end it isn’t about working more but about getting the most optimal results in less time.

We tend to think the word “relaxation” is related to vagrancy. We are part of a system where “not having time” is applauded and we spend days so busy living on “autopilot” that we forget what really awakens the fire within us. We believe that by maintaining an excessively agitated pace we will be able to win the race against time and sooner rather than later the body takes its toll.

Relaxation is about "releasing concerns and tensions and letting the natural order of life flow through our being". It is the state of peace, serenity, physical and mental rest necessary for the efficient functioning of the individual.

The irony is that when we are more stressed out is when we least give ourselves time to relax, we feel that rest is a luxury that we can’t afford. We see relaxation as the enemy of productivity and success, when in reality it’s the whole opposite. Relaxation time is one of our best allies to improve productivity, it is that partner that helps us to complete what we started and that takes away our discouragement when things don’t go as planned.

We waste a lot of time thinking about what we have to do, and this mental mechanism usually causes anxiety. We prefer to focus on what is urgent and we don’t care about what is truly important. This eventually causes feelings of sadness and dissatisfaction.

"You often feel tired, not because you have done too much, but because you have done very little of what lights the spark within you"

If you are an ambitious person wanting to have a profession that you love and a full personal life, chances are that you have more tasks pending than time available. That is when you must PRIORITIZE what is important to maintain harmony in your life.

Now, if someone asked us what our priorities are, we would most likely respond with typical answers such as health, family, work, spirituality, etc. However, the reality is that although we make ourselves believe that we give preference to what we consider to be the most important, how many times do we structure our day-to-day activities to meet those priorities?

When we decide to have a much simpler life we must carefully examine how we spend our energy, money, and time. We must do introspection and usually we will have to make radical changes to align our life purpose with our day to day.

For you to refocus and clarify your priorities, ask yourself the following questions:

What is the most important thing to me? What is the thing a desire the most? What changes should I make to meet that desire?

Try to answer these questions with the heart and not with the mind, without prejudices or guilt, leaving fears and excuses aside. Write your answers (on paper if possible) and every morning before you start your daily routine, read them so you never forget them. You will always get time to do the things you have to do. Make the list of your daily tasks in order of importance, specifying which ones you must comply with and leaving in second, third, and fourth place those that are not a priority at that moment. Then, in the list of your INDISPENSABLE tasks, set aside a few hours to relax. Rest is for the wise and if you want to avoid hitting rock bottom, it is your responsibility that moments of relaxation are a priority in your life. If you take time to relax you will be more efficient, more focused, and your memory will work better. Remember that what makes you happy is not bought, nor borrowed. What activates your light is already within you. You just have to find it!