Do You Need A Break?
“Happy are those who take life day by day, complain very little, and are thankful for the little things in life.” Tiny Buddha
We all need time away mentally and physically. You may be thinking about taking a break right now. Do you know the signs when it is time for you to take a break or to go on a vacation? Knowing you need a break and creating a way to go on your break go hand in hand. I also believe in creating a mindset to embrace your time away so you can reap all of its benefits. Remember, even the best laid plans can have hiccups, so your mindset becomes a great navigational tool on dealing with the “unplanned” things and the stress you may feel when taking your much-needed break. When you plan your break or vacation, do you start feeling guilty about the “other things” you should be doing instead of going away? How do you take your break without feeling guilty?
“A hallmark of wisdom is knowing when to grit and when to quit." —Adam Grant
It has been over a year and a half since I truly took any type of a vacation or a much-needed long break. Recently, I decided to take advantage of our State’s mandatory “no sports” week to take a short vacation with my children and then tack on a few more days to relax at home before I head back to work. Was it perfect? Yes. Did we encounter any hiccups? Yes. We had a couple of hiccups with my car – 6 ½ hours from home. The engine light came on and the engine splash shield that was not replaced correctly on my car, started to hang down and drag on the ground as we went down the highway.
I knew I had a choice…I could get really mad and ruin my own vacation or choose to keep moving forward with the vacation and make a plan to fix the car. It all worked out…why? I decided immediately to have an optimistic mindset and not let this hiccup consume my much-needed mental and physical vacation. I put it all into God’s hands and prayed for wisdom on what to do. My mindset was key to not letting the “car” hiccup steal my joy.
So, what about you? How do you take a break from it all? Do you use your vacation time from work? Do you take a break from your daily life routine?
STRESS PIE CHART
WHEN IS IT TIME FOR A BREAK?
Changes in eating habits
Cynical mindset
Difficulty concentrating
Sick more often or feeling unwell in your body
Lack of energy or motivation
Feelings of ongoing frustration
Can you relate to those stressors? Have you decided it is time for a break? Great!! This is the first step towards moving and creating the life you want to living out every single day. I would encourage you to create a “life plan” to move yourself out from those stressors and move in the direction of a life filled with more joy, peace and those things you want to experience. It won’t be perfect, but you will feel more in control of how you react to what is happening around you.
Time away allows you to: RESET RECHARGE RETHINK REWIRE
Neuroscientists have found that chronic exposure to stress can alter your brain structure and bring on anxiety and depression. When you take a vacation or time away, calmness rises within, stress reduces, and you place your mind and body in a better position to experience healing that otherwise would not have occurred in the stressful environment. Just three days after a break or vacation, people have found their sleep has improved, and their mood has improved compared to before the vacation. These gains were still present five weeks later, especially in those who had more personal time and overall satisfaction during their vacation
· Make a plan. Plan how you want your vacation / break to look and feel. Research shows planning a vacation can boost your happiness. Don’t get stressed in the planning of it, but make it exciting. You are in charge. Some people experience an elevated mood up to eight weeks before the trip.
· Choose to enjoy your time away.
· Ease back into your daily routine after your break. Don’t have the mindset of regretting going back to work (unless you need to change jobs). Make a plan to get back into the rhythm of it….and take your refreshed mindset with you.
Oxygen Mask Rule: "Secure your masks before assisting others." You can apply this same concept when taking a much-needed break. What does this mean? Take the needed time to address your mental, physical and spiritual needs FIRST. This way you are in a better place to be there for those around you. You won’t feel drained all of the time….why? In time you will discover the benefits and the importance of putting yourself first and how you show up in your space with a healthy mindset and body.
DON’T FEEL GUILTY
As I was planning our trip and my week away from work…. I decided I would not feel guilty. I thought about the times I covered for my fellow colleagues while they were off of work on a vacation. I thought about the lack of vacation time in my life this past year and a half. I then thought about the precious time I was going to have with my children as they entered the next big phases of their lives.
PREVIOUSLY… When I was an executive in the financial arena, I barely used the vacation time I had accrued and if I did, it turned into a working vacation. I did that because I thought that was how you moved up the Corporate ladder to establish your professional career.
Over time, I realized how unhealthy that was for me both mentally and physically. Looking back over my professional career, I realize I have worked in some very toxic work environments…thus taking a vacation was hard to do and it was hard to fully relax. It was NOT a win-win for anyone. Fast forward… I am blessed my current job is a NON-TOXIC environment and they encourage taking time off.
Now, I look at my time away from work, taking a social media break and every day stress differently and I choose to NOT FEEL GUILTY. Choose to look for the positives in your time away…even if it is for a few hours, a few days, or longer.
