Finding Zen
Sometimes in the rat race of life we forget to take a minute to breath and clear our minds. A lot of times this leads to mental frustration, unproductivity, and even more toxic habits to our daily lives. We begin to lose sight of the bigger picture and start nit picking at the little things that annoy us. We start feeling like there aren’t enough hours in the day, but what we forget to realize is sometimes we just need a few minutes to re-energize our minds and bodies. In reality if we just take 5-10 minutes to breathe, take a walk and just reset our minds, it can make a huge impact on our outlook. (Check out the Journal of Thoughts for more insights on Perspective and Controlling Your Mind. )
Life is too short to “sweat the small stuff” and we need to find that daily zen to help us rebalance and focus on what truly is important. Look at the bigger picture of your life whether it be having a good job, people who care about you and want you in their life, making future plans, having financial stability, etc. There has to be something in your life that you can look at as a blessing that makes the small things seem irrelevant. If we can find that inner peace and let go of the trivial things that pester us we are more than likely to find happiness and be able to release the negative energy from our minds. Not saying that this is easy to do because I tend to find that this happens to me often. I get so bogged down in my day to day activities that I get frustrated when I lose time and energy to do the things that are meaningful to me and help me relax. I get frustrated and start making excuses that I don’t have time. When I finally remember my own advice to just take a few minutes to breathe and release the frustrations, I finally start to feel a sense of relief.
Personally, I like going outside, especially by the water, and just stare out to a spot and focus on it. Walking by the river feeling the breeze on your face, sitting down on the warm sidewalk or bench and just watching the shimmer of the sun catching in the waves. Focusing on the aspects of nature and the things around you. Avoiding other thoughts crowding your mind and allowing that beautiful moment in nature consume you. Sometimes people ask me what deep thoughts and life changing decisions/plans I make while I am out for a walk. The answer is simple - “I had no life altering thoughts, it was just nice to not think or worry about anything in that moment.”
Most of the time for me, nature works; but there are days when a good sweat at the gym helps release some of the tension or even a day on the couch watching TV or movies. A distraction and way to turn off everything fluttering in your mind and focus on something else to just help you reset and refocus is all you need. There are some great apps out there that you can use to help guide you with breathing too. The apple watch and even fitbit watches have a breathe app built in that you can use to guide and remind yourself to breathe.
Doesn’t matter what you choose to do to find that moment of peace in your day when all else seems to be falling apart or you can’t focus. Just take the 5-10 min for yourself and reset your mind. You will regain that time lost and feel so much more productive and in tune with what is happening around you in the present moment. Take some time to make a list or workout what needs to be done and what can wait. Think about the good in your life and switch your mindset for a few minutes to be grateful for everything around you. Create some affirmations and repeat them to yourself to rebuild your strength and energy to push through.
