How To Reduce Your Stress in 1 Simple Step!

Ask yourself this question:

How easy is it for you to just STOP?

And by the word “stop” I mean, literally decide to take a break from whatever you are doing and DO NOTHING? No watching TV, reading a book, talking, listening to music.

Our lives are so dominated by a culture of action taking, that this can make it very hard for us to stop what we are doing and take a break. We all know that taking a break is likely to be very beneficial in terms of helping us to recharge our batteries and gain a sense of balance. However, we often end up ignoring the signs and telling ourselves that the extra work will be worth the effort and will help us keep on top of our to do list.

The implication for our stress levels when we continue to ignore our body and our natural instinct to stop and have a rest is obvious. Our desire to keep on going, to keep pushing forward can be so strong, and yes, is one that can help us achieve. But, taken to extremes, we then start to lose balance and begin to cross the line where our health – both emotional and physical are likely to suffer.

What Are Your Signs That You Need To Stop & Take A Break?

Here are some common ones:

• Feeling irritable
• Thinking “I’ll just do one more thing” and this 1 thing then turns into another and then another …
• Feeling short of breath
• Eye Strain when working at a computer

For me, one of the big signs that I need to stop and take a break is that I really start to feel a sense of being cooped up inside, almost cabin-fever like. So, the other day I had been working continuously at my computer and started to recognize these same old feelings. I consciously made myself go and stand outside on the balcony and look at the stunning view I am so lucky to have on my doorstep. After a few minutes I could feel the resistance building up, the urge or feeling of “need” to go back inside and continue working at my computer. This was the challenging part, but I recognized the resistance and managed to tell myself to “just relax and breathe”, knowing that another 10 minutes wouldn’t hurt anyone and would definitely benefit me. Once I managed to work through this desire to return back to my work, I felt so much more refreshed, relaxed and recharged. Ready then to tackle and accomplish my next task, in a much better state of mind.

Deepak Chopra in “The Seven Spiritual Laws Of Success” (1996) suggests that it is important for us to do nothing on a regular basis. And when we combine this with the practice of silence we give our minds the opportunity to slow down and therefore reduce the often-overwhelming feelings that go with Stress. He states

“Practicing silence means making a commitment to take a certain amount of time to simply Be. Experiencing silence means periodically withdrawing from the activity of speech. It also means periodically withdrawing from such activities as watching television, listening to the radio, or reading a book. If you never give yourself the opportunity to experience silence, this creates turbulence in your internal dialogue”.

My Challenge To You!

Pin point a time in your schedule where it is possible for you to take a break, even if it only for 5 minutes, to stop and do nothing. This seems such an easy thing to do, but it’s surprising how you can put it off and put it off until it just gets forgotten and dismissed as unimportant.
To make sure you do it, put a structure in place. A structure is anything that will act as a reminder. Examples of structures are: an alarm clock set to go off at a certain time; a post-it note on your computer or on the TV; sending an email to yourself.

Watch the mental resistance that may come up, breathe and enjoy your break. Enjoy the silence.
Warning: this may become addictive!