Give Yourself A Break

"Do something nice for yourself today. Find some quiet, sit in stillness, breathe. Put your problems on pause. You deserve a break." - Akiroq Brost

We all work hard and push ourselves which can at times feel like the smart and productive thing to do. Well, until you’re exhausted, overextended, overwhelmed, or ready to snap. I’ve done this. There are days when I try to be everything to everyone and do more than I can reasonably accomplish, but I know there’s only so much my body, mind, and spirit can take. Sometimes we just need to give ourselves a physical, mental, and emotional break, especially when we’re experiencing a lot of change. 

• GIVE YOURSELF A PHYSICAL BREAK: Allow yourself an extra 15 min of sleep, it can do a lot. Replace strenuous exercise with something less intense, like yoga, or even take a day off to allow your body to relax and unwind. Take a long, hot bath to rest your weary muscles and joints, or a sauna/steam room to relax your muscles and sweat out chemicals that build up in your body. Or get a massage, which is not only relaxing, but also been proven to minimize anxiety, boost the immune system, and reduce depression.
• GIVE YOURSELF A MENTAL BREAK: Take a day off from negative, draining people. Try meditation and deep breathing techniques to calm your nervous system and clear your thoughts. Try progressive muscle relaxation, which involves tensing then relaxing one muscle group at a time. Set aside time to play, be childlike and do something fun and expressive like sing, paint, or dance. Go outside and immerse yourself in nature. Indulge in a guilty pleasure, shop, drink a latte, or do anything else that always pulls you out of your head.
• GIVE YOURSELF AN EMOTIONAL BREAK: Practice observing your feelings instead of getting caught up in them. Focus on the positive. Practice thankfulness and gratitude. Identifying the things that have brought us joy is a powerful way to create more. Count successes. Make a list of all the things you’ve done well and give yourself permission to be proud instead of dissatisfied with what you haven’t done. Replace regrets with dreams. Whenever you start thinking about what you should have done, shift your focus to what you can do now. Release worry. Accept things as they are with no expectations. Once we accept what is, we’re in a much better place to create things as we’d like them to be.

Give yourself a break. Give yourself understanding, forgiveness and belief. Give yourself credit, appreciation and self-love. Give yourself time, space and freedom. Give yourself approval, permission and power. Give yourself attention, priority and focus. Give yourself you.

Make today great!

Curtis

"Research shows that we need to take a break and decompress so we can be at our best at work, and at home. Maybe we should ask if the life we're working so hard to create is fun to live?" - Tina Hallis, Sharpen Your Positive Edge: Shifting Your Thoughts for More Positivity and Success