R-E-L-A-X !
Recently, our lives are overly busy and packed with work. “Busy being busy” is a modern day obsession. Sleeping and eating on time has become a luxury. Media outlets and the digital age have replaced relaxation with recreation. This pandemic has made it much more defined indoors and made us feel that relaxing is like not doing any work and just staying home. Breaks and relaxations are a much need one, everyone has to take breaks or day offs to relax for sure.
Relaxation can mean different things to different people in the real world. For some, it could be doing nothing (related to work) or just eat and sleep. For others it may be watching movies, traveling, talking to friends or playing video games.
A million dollar question here is…
How to relax ?
Is there better ways to relax and feel completely rested and energized ?
Relax is defined by the dictionary as,
To rest while you are doing something enjoyable, especially after work or effort.
To me, “RELAX” seemed more like an acronym than a real word.
Relaxing is a way to revitalize your mind, body, and soul by doing something you’ll truly enjoy.
I expanded the acronym R-E-L-A-X to fit my notions of what would energize my body, mind and soul.
- R — Reflect/Read
- E — Eat well / Exercise
- L — Love / Laugh
- A — Accept yourself and others
- X — e(X)tra time to follow your passion
R — Reflect / Read
- Reflect — Take time to think about life, career, relationships, health, or anything you want to reflect but without judgement.
- Read — Become a book lover. Books are a great source of new ideas and a brain food for good thinking.
E — Eat well / Exercise
- Eat Well — Eat nutritious and balanced diet and more importantly on time.
- Exercise — No matter how simple or vigorous the workout is, build a routine. Only the physical motion matters here.
L — Love / Laugh
- Love — Spend quality time with your loved ones, who matters the most. Love and trust are the building blocks of strong relationship.
- Laugh — Make every day count by laughing your heart out. Bring a smile on the face of the people around you.
Remember: Being connected with the loved ones is of paramount importance in life. Laughter is one of the best medicines to deal with stress, depression, and to keep your heart healthy.
A — Accept yourself and Others
Accept Yourself — Recognize and accept that you are who you are. Work towards becoming a better version of yourself.
Get Shankari Sadhasivam’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
Accept Others — Accept others as they are. Do not try to change others.
Remember — Nobody is perfect. We all have both positive and negative qualities. Every individual is different. By accepting the difference, you will be able to control anger, manage relationships better, and know what to expect from others.
X — Extra time to follow your passion
Extra Time : Think this time as gifted extra time to pursue your passions. Potentialize this time to learn new skills or take up a hobby you’ve been wanting to do.
Consider pursuing something you are passionate about, something that interests you.
Keep learning and feed your curiosity to keep the child within you alive.
- Explore new skills, technologies, business or anything else under the sun.
- Observe and learn from your surroundings and the people around you.
It builds a sense of accomplishment, self-confidence, and purpose in our lives. It also motivates us to take on more challenges in other areas of our life.
On my days off or holidays, I revitalize myself by doing some or all of these things. You can try the R-E-L-A-X tips here or come up with your creative ways to rejuvenate your body, mind, and soul. Coming back to work refreshed after a relaxing day off is a great feeling !
