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Does going on holiday stress you out? You are not alone. Beata at FitChillOut Retreats has a number of clients who have difficulty winding down. We caught up with Beata and here is what she had to share.
Many clients have shared, “As soon as I’m on the plane I get a tremendous panic attack. I worry about all these days I'll have nothing to do, as I will not be productive”. Another client said, “The more I try not to think about work, the more I think about work” and “miss the high energy of being at the office and getting things done.”
Downtime can be a challenge
It’s less about being a workaholic and more about the need to have your mind occupied all the time, whether it’s listening to the news during breakfast or a podcast when running, or checking Instagram on the train, watching tv before bed or playing CandyCrush in line at favourite salad bar.
Every free moment is filled. And we all suffer from this. Those with high-powered jobs, those with routine and standardised job but also children, who often don’t know what to do when they have nothing to do.
“But the benefits of alone time abound. Studies show that solitude is crucial for the development of the self. As highlighted in a study entitled, Solitude: An Exploration of Benefits of Being Alone, solitude is associated with freedom, creativity, intimacy, and spirituality.
Spending time alone means growing spiritually, discovering your identity without outside distractions, having the freedom to do what you want without needing to cater to other people’s wants and thriving creatively.” said Dr. Boardman
Let's do one short and possibly challenging experiment?
Are you in? I hope you are.... Ok, let’s do it then.
First read through the Five-Steps for this short exercise.
- Look what time it is right now.
- Next close your eyes for One Minute and keep them closed.
- Allow your mind to wander, go wherever your mind wants to take you. That’s ok. Why?
- The challenge is to keep eyes closed for the whole One Minute.
- Open your eyes ONLY WHEN YOU THINK One- Minute passed already.
— 1 MINUTE — CLOSE YOUR EYES PLEASE —
How did it go? Was it One Minute or much longer or way shorter? Or you didn’t do it thinking ‘what’s the point’. The idea of making our lives sweeter is almost dreamy, beautiful and sounds luxurious. It also sounds very in line with a New Year’s Resolution affirmation. And the blocking or stopping mechanism is the same. Unwillingness to be in a discomfort state, even for One-Minute.
Relaxation techniques
Meditation and other relaxation techniques are useful ways to make downtime more tolerable and also productive. By gaining control over one’s thoughts, the little annoyances like traffic jams and waiting rooms become less stressful and the big questions become less daunting.
These last few weeks I spent a lot of time talking to my clients about how they spend their days. And what I often ask them to do, is for at least 15 minutes a day, every day, DO NOTHING.
As a result, their mind-set concerning free time (and me-time) has shifted. Instead of thinking of downtime as a source of anxiety, they now think of it as a privilege and something they looks forward putting into ‘daily calendar’
ABOUT BEATA
Beata Justkowiak is the founder of Fit Chill Out, she's not your shrink, She's not a super flexible yogi either - but she is one of the most energetic psychologist you may ever met, breaking the rules and taking psychology out of the therapy room.
She knows how practical both psychology and coaching can be - so share dares to challenge the status quo.
Fit Chill Out Retreats is Beata's brainchild. The retreats are a unique way to RELAX YOUR MIND while TRAINING YOUR BODY. Yoga, The Retreats include Fitness and Coaching workshop plus your well-deserved me-time to chill out to enable you to experience a transformational holiday.
