You’ve probably heard that stress kills – but did you know that stress also has some seriously negative effects on your looks, and emotions, over the long term? The bottom line is that when you are feeling stressed out. That’s not just a “feeling” at all – your body actually releases large amounts of the “stress hormone” cortisol, as well as adrenaline. This shuts down your digestion, affecting your circulation, and much more. When those stress hormone levels stay high for too long, your body actually get damaged, and you start to age dramatically before your time. All good reasons why we need to start figuring out what real relaxation is, especially for working moms!
These days, pretty much everyone is stressed out on a regular basis. It just seems like there’s always so much going on, so many things that need to be handled, and so many things you might want to do that you haven’t got the time or energy to get around to do.
It’s extremely important to create the space in your life for some real relaxation – for your health, for your looks, and for your overall sense of well-being.
Here are a few suggestions that might help you to achieve that.
Make a list of things you know you should be doing but have been putting off, and then tackle them
The first place to start when working towards real relaxation is to get organized. All of us have things that we know we should be doing, but that we’ve been putting off and pushing into the back of our minds for way too long.
The thing is, when you procrastinate and don’t deal with stuff that you really should deal with, that doesn’t leave you in a position where you are able to relax and feel positive about life. Actually, it just nags at you from the background and causes you to feel constant low-level stress pretty much all the time.
To find the space in your life for a bit of relaxation and peace of mind, start by making a list of the things that you know you should be doing but have been putting off, and then tackle them systematically.
Have you been putting off a dentist’s visit for too long? Well, once you’ve “bitten the bullet” and have gone for your appointment, you’ll be able to enjoy being proud of your new smile without feeling nervous and guilty anymore.
Or, how about that ominous looking letter from the bank that you’ve been hesitating to open for a week or more? The sooner you deal with it, the sooner that bit of stress can be removed from your life.
Of course, we are all at risk of “procrastinating” with these kinds of things, because they are usually not to fun or pleasant to deal with. But you’ve got to deal with them if you want to have some proper relaxation and peace.
Do less, and say “no” more often. Focus on quality over quantity, and one thing at a time
One of the major reasons why so many of us struggle to find the time and space to relax more often, is simply because there’s just too much going on at all times – largely because we’ve set things up that way.
With the world being more connected than ever before thanks to things like smart phones and the Internet, you can spend 100% of your free time casually exploring different hobbies, reading interesting articles, watching interesting videos, and agreeing to social obligations.
But when you’ve completely filled your life with back-to-back activities and obligations, where does relaxation or peace of mind come in?
Often, the best policy is to become comfortable with doing less, and with saying “no” more often.
Only let a few positive, fun, and high-quality activities into your free time, and hang out with the people who really matter to you, rather than trying to fill your social calendar with parties and events that don’t really mean much to you on a deeper level.
No one has more than 24 hours in a day, so if you want to find some time for relaxation, you’re going to have to free up that time by cutting out some of the other activities that have been keeping you busy around the clock.
Set yourself a daily time limit for using your high-tech digital devices
The Internet is an amazing tool, and so are smartphones, tablets, and all those other digital and electronic devices. But there’s definitely such a thing as “too much of a good thing” when it comes to being “high-tech” – and if you find yourself short on time and feeling constantly distracted and stressed, there’s a good chance that you are just way too hooked on your digital devices.
Set yourself a daily time limit for using your electronic devices, and try to define clear boundaries for what you’re going to use them for. If you want to watch a film in the evening with your significant other, watch that film, and then consider turning the TV off and doing something else. Or, how about setting a hard rule that your smart phone never goes into the bedroom, so that you won’t be so tempted to stay up late scrolling through different webpages?
Statistics say that the average person spends hours every day just surfing the web – so if you want to free up some of your time and relax a bit more, cutting back on that might help.
Focus on “earning” your relaxation, so that you can truly enjoy it and revel in it
Have you ever had that weird and uncomfortable feeling of having plenty of free time and luxury at your disposal, only to end up finding it all really boring, uncomfortable, and unsatisfying?
Maybe it’s happened to you during your annual vacation from work, where by day four or so of hanging out at home and lounging on the sofa, your “relaxation” has stopped feeling blissful, and has started to feel more like torture.
The thing is, relaxation is only really “relaxing” when we feel like it’s been earned, and when it’s balanced with work, chasing our goals, and all that sort of stuff.
Try to get a balance in your own life, where you don’t just “relax” aimlessly, but spend your time well and productively, and then allow yourself to really enjoy your free moments as a result of that. It’s a great way of feeling better about everything, in a hurry.
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