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Which sounds better?
What do you think? Continuous effort or engaging in play? They both sound pretty good to me . . . do we need to compromise one to enjoy the other?
It’s easy to say “No, I can have it both ways,” but then responsibility and pressure catch up with us; continuous effort becomes a heavy strain and Johnny doesn’t only turn dull, he goes out of his mind with the stress, which then turns into ulcers, high blood pressure and eventually he’s hit with a heart attack while un-jamming the photocopier.
Illness is western civilization’s favorite relaxation technique, but it’s also destructive and hard on the body. When your life-work balance isn’t level, it’s not only your lifestyle that suffers, but your body and mind as well.
So to deal, here are a few tips for stopping stress-sickness before it develops:
Contrary to popular opinion, letting yourself rest isn’t for slackers. There are some really successful (and famous) people who have followed the napping routine (e.g., Bill Clinton and Thomas Edison).
You snooze, you don’t lose; instead your body will thank you. A good life-work balance means better health all around. It’s an idea that’s worth your attention.
What do you think? Can there be a compromise between play and effort? Do you have trouble maintaining balance, or are you an expert on life-work balance? Any tips or questions you’d like to share with our other readers?
Please share your thoughts.
Take Care!
Dr Tony
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– A blog of a young woman who has just discovered she has breast cancer. Her writing is therapeutic for her, and is a help others going through this trying ordeal
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This is so true. When you just have to keep going because you think you are behind, you get exhausted. Taking a break, holiday even, does rejuvenate you and you end up making more progress than when you are running on empty! Good Stuff.
So true, stress is linked to illness in so many ways it should be a top priority for all of us to learn to relax. What amazes is me is how we are never taught how, yet the benefits are so great.
I know I always need to be reminded to take time, meditate and plan relaxation into each day.
Thanks,
Jeff
I find scheduling breaks into my schedule very helpful. I rest guilt free knowing that I’ve done great work and can relax as planned. It gets rid of that lurking guilt that sometimes infects my relaxation.
I find that when you walk out of the office you have to change hats, literally, and forget what is left to be done at work. That seems to be the best way to chill, otherwise you are constantly going over your work 24/7.
I read somewhere how Thomas Edison would take power naps throughout the day. Don’t know if it was him, but the idea was to relax in your chair at work, hold a pen in your hand and let yourself drift off to sleep. When you fell asleep, you let go of the pen, it hit the floor and the sound would wake you up. He claimed that he woke up refreshed and ready to go again.
This mirrors recent research that shows that a 20 minute nap in the afternoon increases one’s productivity!
I agree with Tony’s observations. When I partition my life between my work, my home, my volunteer activities, and time for me, I’m less stressed. Juggling different priorities seems easier since I’m not overstressing one aspect of my life to the neglect of others.
This type of juggling is relatively new to me since in the past, I would go gung-ho on my latest project, and let other aspects of my life slide until I needed to do some damage control.
Tony’s and Marcelle’s “Ultimate Wake-Up” workshops have taught me how to recognize what’s important in my life, where to focus, and how to allocate my attention in a balanced and free-flowing way.
With regard to the “power nap”, when I get a little “toc toc” in my head, I follow my intuition and close my eyes, and go immediately into a wonderful meditative state filled with visions and wisdom. I’ll wake up 5 minutes later refreshed, rearing to go with new ideas. The key, as Catherine says, is to let go of the guilt and allow yourself to relax fully.
I have found that I MUST let go of the office when I leave work. If I carry a persons problems home with me, they get into my every moment. In fact, letting things alone while not there seems to help the creative or intuitive juices flow better. I guess I am saying, try to be in the moment, what ever that is.
Tony’s comment about “living in the moment” is very valuable and is a key factor for a balanced life. I spent most of my life stuck in the past filled with nostalgia and sadness for people and animals whom I missed, either because they had died or I had lost contact with them.
In her workshop, Marcelle has this wonderful exercise where we are made aware to what extent we are living fully in the moment. The first time I went through this exercise, I was blown away by how much I was not in the present moment, and a few minutes later, how different it felt when I put myself 100% in the moment… What a feeling!
It’s so easy to be stuck in the past or fearful of the future. But now I know the techniques to keep me in the present, life is awesome!