Do you know why so many people have trouble dealing with anxiety? Simply put, it boils down to a lack of perspective.  Most of us think of anxiety as something that’s irrevocably… out there; as though it were an ominous and invisible threat plotting against our well-being.

All too frequently, people conceive of anxiety as an external factor they cannot possibly control. Does that describe how you feel? Truth be told, this kind of reasoning is nothing but an excuse to remain a victim of anxiety. Even though there are a plethora of known anxiety causes that you can’t control directly, it’s often possible to alleviate the problem by tackling specific habits and attitudes which usually go hand in hand with anxiety.

You may not be aware of it, but there are common habits of the mind and body that you constantly indulge, which secretly add up to your anxiety. Tackling these causes of anxiety will by no means eradicate your problem, but it will help make it manageable. It will also help you realize that you’re not a victim of your inner turmoil, as much as you’re a co-creator of it.

Understanding the most common causes of pathological anxiety

Coffee: Often regarded as a harmless beverage, coffee is actually a highly additive anxiety-inducing drug; it makes people more alert, but it also makes them jittery and nervous. Anyone who suffers from anxiety disorder or any kind of pathological anxiety issues should absolutely avoid coffee. Substitute with herbal teas and you’ll soon feel much more in control.

Refined Sugars: Likewise with coffee, refined sugars are also quite widespread and very much additive. If you don’t believe it, try spending a week without ingesting any foods that contain refined sugars. Avoiding sugar is a real challenge; not only because it’s omnipresent, but also because you have grown used to having a daily fix…. which makes you feel better on the short term, but soon after induces irritability and anxiety. Just like any other drug.

Sedentary lifestyle: One of most common patterns among anxiety sufferers is leading a highly sedentary living with little to no physical activity. No surprises there! When you fail to provide an outlet for all the energy and tension coursing through your body, that energy will invariably fuel your feelings of anxiety. You need to get in the habit of tiring your body on a regular basis, because that will directly contribute to soothing and relaxing your mind.

Negative thinking: Most people who are adepts of negative thinking fail to realize so. This is unfortunate, because the on-going stream of negative thoughts is constantly fueling your feelings of anxiety and inadequacy. How could you possibly not suffer from anxiety, if your mind is constantly racing in negative loops? Try to become aware of your negative thinking, and make a commitment to dismiss those woeful clouds constantly surrounding you.

Sleep Deprivation: It’s amazing how people underestimate the importance of getting a good night’s sleep, even though they constantly experience the negative effects of sleep deprivation. You must realize that sleep plays a vital role in regulating your physical and emotional states; anything less than 7 hours per night is just not healthy and it will invariably bring you closer to the mental edge every day.

Stress: In this day and age, people should be taught how to deal with stress from an early age. Because left unmanaged, stress is a negative force that can cause real damage in your life. If you constantly feel as though you’re unable to cope with your responsibilities and if you have a really hard time keeping up with your routine… that could become one of the major sources of anxiety in your life. Find ways to improve your ability to deal with stress, and your peace of mind will soon be reinforced.

Victim Mindset: It’s very hard not to get caught up in the victim mindset when you have chronic anxiety problems. But when it happens, it will make you feel as though you are just irrevocably stuck with your anxiety issues. Please don’t buy such silly ideas! You are only a victim while you refuse dealing with your problems. And as you may have realized from reading this article, managing anxiety can be done in rather subtle and seemingly indirect ways.

Remember, anxiety is not your enemy. It’s not an invisible enemy waiting to get you. Anxiety is more of a consequence of your dissatisfaction, rather than a cause. Understand what’s sourcing this problem and do your best to deal with it; as you do so, you’ll be effectively undermining the power anxiety has over you, and it will gradually become easier to cope.

This guest post was authored by Pedro Cardoso, who is well versed on anxiety treatment options. He believes that anxiety problems are best dealt with by yielding rather than struggling. He would like to urge all anxiety sufferers to follow the path of least resistance and tackle the sources of anxiousness rather than its manifestations.

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5 Ways to Stay Positive Everyday

How To Stop Worrying What Others Think

With our hectic lives and severely over-packed schedules, we often find ourselves lost somewhere along the way. We work so hard to live passionately and abundantly, yet that same work so often becomes nothing more than a time crunch that creates scarcity and a lack of zest for life. Luckily for us, we don’t have to stop working entirely to reclaim our excitement for what is around us. We only have to take a little time to slow down and, as they say, smell the roses.

Starting with the smallest and ending with the most profound, here are 10 tips that will help you in your quest to bring back that sense of wonder and joy you had when you were a kid. We’re going to start with – what else? – something you can do each morning.

1. Make your own morning coffee (or tea!)

Don’t let the instant mix make it for you. And especially don’t let anyone else (including Starbucks) do it for you. If you do, you are missing out on a vital chance to not only shake off some of that sleepiness, but also to quiet your mind and appreciate a process that sustains you.

Sure, there’s a lot of work to be done, so you could just grab that $5 latte and be on your merry way. Or you could wake up 15 minutes earlier and start your day off with wonderful aromas and a sense of accomplishment.

Why not start your day with joy? You might even miss the morning rush.

2. Have lunch with a friend

If your version of lunch includes typing away at a keyboard while taking time-efficient bites out of a McDonald’s hamburger between keystrokes, then brace yourself: this one is going to be tough.

I’m talking about actually getting off the computer for at least 30 minutes at a time – or maybe even an hour – and spending that time eating and socializing with someone you like. You’ll find that your mind will naturally start to slow down and you’ll begin to enjoy yourself. And as an added bonus, you’ll have renewed creativity and, of course, productivity.

Speaking of restaurants, check out this next tip:

3. Eat at a new restaurant

One of my favorite things to do is combing purposes for things I enjoy. For example, I like eating, and I like new things. I find that they both allow me to slow down and appreciate what is around me. So why not combine them?

Not only could you find your new favorite place to grab a bite to eat, but the new setting will cause you to take in more of your surroundings, resulting in increased attention to detail and overall well-being. You could even combine the last tip and eat at a new restaurant with a friend. How’s that for time management?

But enough of being so social. Part of enjoying the mystery of life is turning inward and taking a look around the ol’ attic upstairs. And don’t mind if you find any cobwebs – we will clean those right up.

4. Take a walk by yourself

If this doesn’t make you feel good, I don’t know what will. I find a lonesome walk through the park to be a necessity at times. The key to this tip is knowing when to use it. You know that moment when you’re feeling so stressed out that your head is about ready to burst and you can’t find a minute to take a drink of water, let alone a leisurely stroll?

Well, that’s exactly when you need to take a walk. Under no circumstances should life ever become crazy enough that you lose that precious inner sense of joy. The moment you forget about that, you’ve already lost perspective. Anything you do from then on will be much more prone to error and failure. Work from positivity, not negativity.

Oh, and about your walk – be sure to turn off your cell phone. I know, I know – just do it.

5. Use your imagination

First, a question: when is the last time you used your imagination? And I’m not talking about using it for work, either. When did you last imagine something for fun? Just for the heck of it.

There’s a reason why kids are able to have fun in any situation. I’m sure you’ve seen it, and even experienced it. You’re walking through the supermarket, racking your brain to come up with the most efficient route to get what you need and out of the store in record time (it’s OK – I do it too), and then you see some snot-nosed little brat having the time of his life pretending an ordinary banana is a spaceship. A spaceship!

Depending on your disposition (and how loud he is), you may smile or grimace, but I can guarantee that you aren’t having as much fun as him. How is it that we are born knowing how to enjoy life, and yet after learning all of the wonderful things we adults learn, we somehow forget how to have fun? It’s almost like we get dumber as we get older.

The solution? Counteract the aging process with the full power of your imagination. You don’t have to pretend bananas are spaceships – although that would be fun – but try to imagine something that makes you laugh at least once every single day.

6. Get lost in a good book

One of the first things we dump in our quest for world domination a corporate lifestyle is good old-fashioned reading. One of the best ways, if not THE best way, to break ourselves of our stressful habits is to immerse ourselves in a fantasy world.

Here are some guidelines for finding the right book for you. It:

• Must be unrelated to work
• Must be fiction
• Must be “just for fun”
• Must be read with absolutely no multitasking allowed

That should put you on the right track.

7. Get rid of one thing a day

This may not make much sense of first, but it will soon enough. The truth is, we have so much clutter surrounding us at any given moment (at the office, in our cars, in our homes) and we’ve become so accustomed to it that we no longer notice how it affects us. If you start cleaning up some of that external clutter, a lot of internal clutter will go away immediately.

However, chances are you don’t have a lot of extra time to spend cleaning up junk. And spring cleaning is what, like two seasons away? The solution: choose one (or two, or three) items each and every day and get rid of them. You will be surprised at how much you’ve accumulated over the years.

It will be difficult at first, so expect some resistance. But after some time you will begin to learn to let go of your packrat tendencies, and your mind will thank you for your efforts.

8. Create something

Remember when I mentioned that we were going from small stuff to big stuff? Well, we’re  finally getting into the really big stuff now. These are the paradigm shifts and habits changes that will completely change your life. So pay attention.

Creation is a process like none other. Putting to use your innovative faculties and constructing something with your mind that will eventually become a reality leaves one with an indescribable sense of wholeness.

There really is no substitute for it. The only caveat is that it must be related to something you actually care about. If you are creating financial plans for clients all day and you hate it, then that’s not going to work. But if you can find something you love then that will make all the difference.

If you haven’t created something in a while just for the sake of creating, try it. You will be surprised.

9. Express gratitude

As important as creation is, gratitude is perhaps even more so. Gratitude encompasses anything from a simple thank you to an all-encompassing way of life. For meaningful personal change, we want the latter.

To walk in gratitude is to appreciate all that is around you. It’s the kind of attitude that will take your current reality and supercharge it with beauty, love, and joy. Once you adopt this outlook, your life will change. Even if your external circumstances don’t shift much, your experience will be forever altered.

But that’s only #9. So what could be more important than living with gratitude?

10. Meditate each day

I saved this for last because it is at once the simplest of the ten, and yet also the most potentially life-changing. All it takes is 10 minutes a day to completely revolutionize the way you see the world. And yet so many people don’t take the time to meditate. One of the reasons is that it can be so easy to skip doing it. In fact, when we get busy, it’s often the first thing to go.

It’s akin to the government cutting NASA programs and the like before anything else when it needs funding. Sure, it makes sense on a small level. After all, cutting our space exploration budget isn’t going to affect us much right now. But what about in 50 years? In 100? In 1000? How many discoveries and insights might we miss out on because we wanted to fund more practical things?

It’s exactly the same situation when you choose to spend those extra 10 or 20 minutes working instead of meditating. Sure, you can put meditation off in favor of getting a few more down-to-earth things done right now, but what are you missing? What kind of life-altering insights and exciting metaphysical experiences are you sacrificing? And how much joy are you giving up?

Clearly, you should meditate. It’s quick and easy, and it makes you feel great. Plus, it’s even backed by science!

That’s all for this list. If you take even one thing from here and do it on a regular basis, your life will be much improved. However, you can take in several tips at once if you want.  In fact, this list was designed to do just that.  It incorporates both small, daily things and big picture type stuff. It’s quite possible (and natural) to work on both the same time. Why not give it a shot right now?

Can you think of any more ways to gain simplicity in a busy life? Do you have any workaholic horror stories? Please share them in the comments below.

—-

Fred Tracy runs a personal development website where he shares his insights and quirky stories. He is practical and eclectic, borrowing ideas from psychology, spirituality, and common sense, among many other sources. All of this information is distilled into articles with the sole purpose of this: teaching you, the reader, to live consciously and achieve the life of your dreams.

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Why You Should Read Personal Development Books

Whether you enjoy relaxing by the beach, skiing down the slopes or testing your golf game, it’s important to make time occasionally to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Easier said than done, right? With appointments, deadlines, and demands of your time, it’s easy to forget what it means to take a breather. To avoid total burnout, take the following simple steps to get peace of mind so you can really unwind:
1. Step Away From the Technology
For some of us, our iPhones and Blackberrys are like members of the family. You play your games on them, you do business on them and heck, sometimes you even talk on them. But to truly unwind and de-stress, it’s important to step away from the things that can tether you to your commitments and obligations. Silence your phone, or even better yet, turn it off so that you don’t have to be distracted by alerts and notifications when you’re trying to get some much-needed R&R.

2. Volunteer Your Time
There’s nothing like engaging in an activity you really care about to help clear your mind and re-charge the batteries. Whether you want to volunteer at a soup kitchen or help socialize adoptable pets, there are few things that can have a greater impact, while also helping you along the way. It’s often low-stress and can help remind you to prioritize what’s really important in your life.
3. Crank Up the Volume
Did you know that listening to music can actually increase blood flow? Whether you’re into Kenny Chesney or Kenny G, just listening to your favorite music can help improve your mood and clear your mind. Programs like iTunes, Spotify and Pandora make getting your favorite tunes (even those from way back when) easy and affordable. Better yet, get up and move around, and enjoy a mini dance party in your living room. It’ll get your blood pumping, and you’ll feel refreshed and able to relax.

4. Write it Down
Have a million and one thoughts running through your head? If so, putting all of those ideas and worries on a piece of paper may help you sort through them and push past those that are preventing you from unwinding. Which ones can be addressed right now? Which ones are out of your control? Think it through, and when you’re done, toss the piece of paper in the trash. Tell yourself you’ve given those issues as much time as they’re worth, and that it’s time to move forward.

5. Get in Touch With Nature
When was the last time you went for a walk without purpose? Like a mini dance party, getting some fresh air, especially in an area with lots of foliage, can be invigorating and a chance to reflect on the simpler things in life. If you have a dog, take him or her with you, and get the added benefit of exercising them as well. Animals are thought to have a calming influence, so it’ll be mutually beneficial and also a great way to get a little peace of mind.

This post is written by Erica Moss. Erica is the social media outreach coordinator for the Masters in Nursing program at Georgetown University, which has one of the nation’s leading FNP programs. Outside of work, Erica is an avid dog lover who loves photography and meeting new people.

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Why You Should Read Personal Development Books

When I tell people I think life should be effortless, they usually laugh. They think I’m joking. Everyone knows life isn’t effortless, that getting things done and achieving anything worthwhile requires hard work, time and a lot of effort. Success costs, and people who become successful without paying are either cheats, crooks or just lucky.

Think, for a moment, about the metaphors you use to describe your experience of life. We often see life as a struggle, a battle, a war, a difficult journey with obstacles to be overcome, a test to be passed.  These images colour our actions and determine the way we go about doing things. We have come to see brute force as the best way to get things done. In the west, especially, we tend to carry around images of the lone pioneer, the individual battling against the forces of chaos, taming nature. To have achieved is to have beaten the odds, to have struggled and held on and never given up. Victory is for the tenacious, the resilient, the person who never gives in.

But there is another way of seeing things, and another way of getting things done, a way which sees life differently and recognizes the importance of harmony, balance and living peacefully, the importance of following the natural course of things.

Every situation – whether a relationship, an organization, a community – has within itself a natural structure, a kind of grain along which everything flows. Sometimes it’s called a ‘culture.’ Every situation is different, and the effortlessly successful amongst us do not make assumptions. They watch carefully until they understand the natural geometry of the situation, and seek to fit in. They don’t waste energy fighting the way things are – they ‘go with the flow.’

Success can come about by force – the energy of revolution can make things shift – but sustainable results only ever come about by going with the grain, seeking out the path of least resistance, and hence leveraging off the natural structure of the situation. Lao Tzu, the semi mythical Taoist master, wrote, ‘By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try, the world is beyond winning.’ Water always seeks the low ground and always yields to resistance. Yet it carries enormous energy and can, over many years, wear down sharp rocks into small, smooth pebbles and carve wide, deep channels through the landscape.

When I was a kid, my father taught me how to saw wood. He showed me which way to cut – no good cutting against the grain since it will be hard work and the timber will only crack and splinter. And he showed me how to hold the saw – not too tightly, not pushing down into the wood but allowing it to move naturally and fluidly, guiding it ever so gently. Let the saw do the work, was his summary. The skilful craftsman knows better than to use force.

Lao Tzu continues, ‘Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.’ Our attempts to speed things along and do things in our own way and in our own time usually make things worse. To pull fruit off the tree before it is ripe is to end up with sour fruit; to row against the current is futile.

A river rarely takes a straight course, meandering instead through the natural shape of the landscape, keeping to the lowest points, moving around mountains and hills. But the water keeps flowing powerfully, carving great valleys into the landscape. Like nature, our own achievements can take time; they happen in their own way and at their own pace.

To resist the natural course – to row against the tide – is exhausting and pointless; those who try only wear themselves out getting nowhere. But hose who embrace the reality of the situation, tap into its energy and use it creatively can be wildly successful. Instead of fighting the natural order, they use its power and its energy to create results – and they do it effortlessly.

The effortlessly successful are also open to new experiences and accept that the future is a blank canvas. In the end, we know very little. My own life looks nothing like the way I imagined it; indeed, in many ways it is exactly what I would not have chosen. But things could hardly have worked out better. It is my belief that, when we relax and stop pretending that we are in control, life starts to work.

The truth is that we don’t really know what we want. Despite our search for certainty and a clear vision of the future, we cannot know what the future holds for us, what new lands we shall discover when our ship has been blown across the sea. All we can do is keep a vigilant eye for opportunity, relax and enjoy the journey. ‘Thinking that you know is a kind of sickness. The wise are sick of sickness, and so they are well.’

An effortless life is a truly effective one. When energy is not wasted on misguided attempts at control, and when we seek to follow the natural course, we can be supremely effective. We can find the tipping points and create enormous and sustainable change. And when we are open to new experiences, ready to fall into whatever comes our way, we can experience a truly vibrant and meaningful kind of life.

For more articles and resources, visit Effortless Abundance and check out http://sailwiththewind.com.

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How To Increase Self Discipline

How To Motivate Yourself

It’s 6pm. You haven’t really accomplished anything today … but hey, you needed some time to relax. You took a long lunch and re-watched a couple of episodes of a TV show. You spent an hour or two in a coffee shop, flicking through a few newspapers. You updated Facebook and Twitter and Google+ …

… so why do you feel stressed?

Chances are, you weren’t really relaxing. You were procrastinating: putting off what you wanted to get done because you felt some resistance to it.

Here’s the difference:

Procrastination is unfulfilling. It’s a displacement activity – and you’ve constantly got a nagging voice at the back of your mind reminding you of all those tasks on your to-do list. Procrastination might make you feel a bit better temporarily, but you’ll end the day feeling frustrated with yourself.

Relaxing is restorative. It’s a deliberate choice – not something that you seem to fall into. You relax during scheduled breaks, or when your work is done for the day, rather than whenever you start to lose focus on a task. You’ll not only feel good while you’re relaxing, you’ll feel good afterwards, too.

How to Procrastinate Less …

1. Block any websites that tempt you to procrastinate. (You might even want to shut off your internet connection entirely for an hour or two.)

2. Remind yourself that if you get all your tasks done, you’ll be able to relax sooner. It’s easier to stay on-track when you’ve got something to look forward to.

3. Pick one task to focus on at a time. It’s very easy to end up procrastinating by constantly switching between tasks. (“I’ll just check my emails…”) If you find your attention slipping, remind yourself “I’m working on X right now.”

4. Take regular breaks. No-one can stay focused for hours at a time. Aim to work for 20 – 45 minutes at a stretch, then give yourself 5-10 minutes to stretch, walk around or even meditate.

… And Relax More

1. Schedule in time to relax. You might, for instance, plan to go to a movie on Saturday afternoon – which makes it easier to stay focused on chores in the morning.

2. Make a deliberate choice about what to do. You don’t necessarily need to decide ahead of time – often it’s good to follow the whim of the moment. But do pause to consider what you’d really enjoy.

3. Fight any feelings of guilt. We all need time to rest and recharge. Don’t let other people tell you that you “should” relax in their way: if you want to spend Saturday catching up on TV, and you find that rejuvenating, then go ahead!

4. Set firm boundaries around your work. You might need to do some tasks outside 9am – 5pm (or whatever your hours are) – but try to set aside at least one full day every week when you don’t work at all.

So … will you find time to relax properly today? Let us know your thoughts and tips in the comments!

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Have you even wondered why you just simply can’t lose weight no matter how hard you try? Or, maybe, why you feel so cranky and unproductive throughout the day? These could all be symptoms of a lack of sleep.

We sleep for a reason, not because we can but because we must. Our bodies were designed to work hard all day and then recoup and recharge overnight while we sleep. In this new age, everybody is always on the go, trying to catch up with a fast-paced society that is solely interested in profit-making. All of us want to have major success and to be at the top of our game but, I’m sure, not at the cost of our health.

The Benefits of Sleep:

Doctors all over, including those at Harvard and NYU’s School of Medicine, have found that sleep is good for many reasons, including:

Weight – The hormones leptin and ghrelin influence your appetite, ghrelin stimulates your appetite, which makes you hungry, and leptin suppresses it, which tells your brain that you are full. So you’re wondering, what does that have to do with sleep? Well, a lack of sleep causes a fall in leptin levels and a rise in ghrelin levels; therefore, your brain will constantly be telling you that you are not full which, in turn, makes you eat more and gain weight.

Mood – Chronic lack of sleep is one cause of moodiness, irritability and lack of interest in routine activities. If these conditions continue, they can lead to mental disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, stroke and depression.

Mental ability and learning – The brain stores new information into long-term memory during sleep through a process called memory consolidation. Why do you think people always encourage students to get a good night’s rest before an exam?

Immune system and strength: The body makes added protein molecules while you sleep which helps to build the immune system and strengthen weakened muscles. Therefore, you’ll be fit to handle any physically taxing activity.

How to get a good night’s rest

Your productivity clearly lessens when you are fatigued, irritable, forgetful and sick. So, now you know that your body needs to get sleep to keep healthy and productive. However, some persons can’t automatically start sleeping earlier and longer because of this new information. Therefore, for those persons who are troubled with sleeping disorders and those who simply can’t find the time to sleep, here are some quick tips on how you can try to fall asleep and stay asleep longer.

Quiet and dark: It has been found that a quiet, dark room makes it easier for a person to fall asleep. Therefore, make sure you turn off all the lights and sounds in the room before you get into the bed.

Relax yourself: Take a warm bath with chamomile or lavender body wash, then moisten your skin and put on your favorite pajamas. Try to do this at the most an hour before you go to bed so you will be cool and fresh when you hit the sack.

Get active: When you are active throughout the day your body uses up the energy that you have taken in. As such, when you go into bed you will be tired and ready to sleep and you will sleep longer.

Make it a routine: Go to bed at the same time every night and set an alarm so you wake up the same time every morning. This will make sleeping into a habit which will eventually come naturally to you. So schedule all your activities with your bedtime in mind.

Stop worrying: Bedtime should be a time of relaxation, so don’t take your troubles to bed. If you worry you will not fall asleep.

I hope you’ll now be well rested and ready to work!

Joel Mark is an online author who is passionate about basketball, weight training & fitness. When he’s not outside exercising, he studies a lot about health and nutrition, which runs the gamut from avoid sleep apnea masks to nutrition.

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I’d bet that, as a kid, you heard the phrase “Hard work never killed anyone.”

I can see why parents and teachers say it. After all, kids are prone to whining – about homework, chores, or anything that’s not exactly a lot of fun.

As adults, we’re sometimes averse to hard work too. Maybe we procrastinate, or we slack off.

Often, though, we work too hard. We put in long hours to impress our bosses, or simply to make a bit more money.

The thing is, Mom wasn’t telling the truth. Hard work can kill. Think about:

• Stress-related illnesses, like migraines, high blood pressure and even heart attacks
• Poor lifestyle choices caused by busyness (eating on the run, not exercising) that lead to long-term consequences like weight gain, diabetes, even strokes

In some working environments, and some peer groups, there’s a cult of busyness: you might end up feeling that you have to work long hours just to keep up with everyone else.

How Did We Get So Busy?

On the face of it, the long-hours culture seems odd. Over the past fifty years, technological advances mean that we’ve got all sorts of labor-saving devices that our grandparents didn’t have, like washing machines, dishwashers, computers…

In fact, a generation or two ago, people believed that by now, our main problem would be too much leisure time.

It’s not worked out like that. Some of that’s for good reasons – like our innate need to do productive, useful work. But there are a lot of not-so-good reasons too:

• We work hard because advertisers convince us that we need to keep buying bigger and better products
• We take on debt because banks push credit cards and unaffordable mortgages
• We think that  “frugality” is a dirty word
• We’ve been seduced by a culture that tells us “having it all and having it now” will make us happier

Perhaps we think that this way of life is inevitable. Our friends and colleagues all work hard, probably in jobs they don’t like very much, and let off steam at the weekends. But does it really need to be that way?

What Really Matters to You?

Prioritizing money and work above everything else can be fatal. And even if it’s not, it can come with a very hefty price tag. Do you really want to:

• Spend the majority of your life working at something you don’t like?
• Miss seeing your kids grow up?
• Put money before your real values?

Your health and your happiness are important. Sure, working hard to reach your goals is a valuable trait … but it’s not the only thing that matters in life.

I know there aren’t any easy answers. I know that you might be in a situation where you have to work incredibly hard just to make ends meet. But if you’ve got any sort of choice, I’d urge you to start looking for ways to enjoy life a little more. That might mean cutting back on what you spend on things that you don’t really care too much about – and having more freedom instead.

If you’d like to explore some ways to get off the busyness treadmill, check out these great Pick the Brain posts:

• Time Flies: 5 Ways To Make Sure You Enjoy The Ride
• 5 Ways To Escape Overwhelm
• 4 Ways to REALLY Make Time Work for You

I had a conversation with one of my daughters yesterday. She had recently moved from a conventional office setting to a home office environment and was feeling somewhat guilty for waiting to simply get up and leave that environment to at times do nothing. Her self worth is currently inextricably attached to the amount of work she perceives that she needs to do on a daily basis. At times we can be our worst taskmasters.

As her father and business coach I shared the following – ‘Man or woman looks out of window thinking great thought. That is great work. That is how great businesses, books, and blogs are first germinated – in the uncluttered mind.’

So allow me to share 5 truths why you should at times do absolutely nothing.

1. Be Uncluttered

We live in a world that rushes by at a frantic pace. Our minds, very easily, can be suddenly cluttered – full of all the images and messages thrust at us by the media in all its forms. A cluttered mind, like a cluttered office, will make at times, it very hard to make sense of it all.

This is when I draw aside – and I particularly find that being accompanied by a journal to de-clutter my mind helps greatly. Here I pour my thoughts out and on to a sheet of paper – and suddenly space is made available in the mind that a minute ago was confused and befuddled.

2. Be Refueled

When I put gas in my car’s tank it takes me so far before I need to pull aside to another gas station to fill it up again.

So too my mind.

The only way I can continue to write ‘magnificence’ as I call it – is that I spend some time each day reading or listening to another’s ‘magnificence’. The more I write, the more I need to read. The more I give, the more I need to receive.

Doing absolutely nothing at times, each day, allows me to draw upon the resources that will sustain me spiritually, mentally, socially, physically, and even financially.

3. Be Inspired

An inspired life is a fired life.

I love my open fire at home. But in order for the fire to be sustained I must first add the necessary wood required to fuel the flame.

To get started there needs to be an abundance of smaller twigs. But to sustain the fire I need to place larger logs in the hearth.

So when it comes to inspiration it may come first to reading my Daily Motivational Memos that contain an original quote of mine plus an additional 100 power packed and life changing words. Those additional 100 words expand upon the subject covered by the quote.

But then to be sustained I may require a self development course such as my Self Development Mastermind Program, that has been created to build people’s lives over a 6 month period through the use of text, audio and video presentations along with personal interaction with myself as their coach.

4. Be Discovered

Life is very much about the discovery of us – our strengths, our desires, our abilities, our passions, and our dreams.

Every day is a fresh unfolding for the seeker.

So times of solitude, when you do absolutely nothing, are times for, great discovery.

By simply drawing aside with your journal and pen in hand – with each stroke of the pen a new discovery will be unveiled.

5. Be

Some people call it meditation. But this is where you close the books, the journals, and put down your pen. Some like to close their eyes, while others like to view the world through fresh eyes.

This is the time that I take myself and immerse myself in nature itself – a walk along the beach or sitting in a bush land setting in the sun.

You choose the place. You choose the time to simply BE. Allow creation’s permeation to infiltrate your being. Don’t talk. Cease the chatter in your head and simply listen – for the answer awaits your question when you learn to simply be.

Motivational Memo: To be or not to be, that is the answer!

Peter’s NEW Short Profile:

Peter G. James Sinclair is in the ‘heart to heart’ resuscitation business and inspires, motivates and equips others to be all that they’ve been created to become. Receive your free copy of his latest eBook Personal Success Blueprint at – http://www.motivationalmemo.com and add him on Twitter @PeterGJSinclair – today!

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Back in November, I went away for a weekend’s retreat, and it was one of the best things I did last year. I have a lot going on in my life, and clearing that space meant juggling some commitments around – but it was well worth it. I felt much happier and more relaxed than I had done in a long time, and I came back from the weekend determined to keep some of that “quiet space” in my regular life.

I expect that you’re similarly busy. You probably find it hard – logistically and emotionally – to find any time for yourself. When you do get a gap in your day, you end up filling it with chores or emails or tasks that have been on your to-do list for months. And when it comes to the evening, you probably don’t have the energy to do much more than turn the television on.

Even when you’re short of time, though, it’s possible to find yourself a quiet space – mentally, if not always physically! Here are a few ideas to get you started.

If you have … five minutes

Five minutes might not seem like long, but if you sit in silence, focusing on your breathing, you’ll realise how refreshing that time can be. You might want to read up on meditation, or, if you’re religious, you might like to pray.

However busy you are, you can find five minutes a day – perhaps five minutes before work, during your lunch hour, and when you come home from work – to simply sit quietly and let yourself calm down from the busyness of the rest of your day.

If you have … half an hour

Although finding a half-hour block in your day is more challenging than snatching five minutes, it’s definitely possible. It might mean taking your lunch break (instead of working through it), or using the first half-hour when you get home from work in the evening.

Half an hour is a great length of time to go for a brisk walk. I find that walking is one of the best ways of being active, because you don’t need any special equipment, you don’t need to shower afterwards, it’s free, and you can do it almost anywhere. Instead of listening to music while you walk, opt for silence, and observe your thoughts.

If you have … an afternoon

Free afternoons (or mornings) don’t come about all that often, so make the most of them – and try blocking out a Saturday or Sunday afternoon every once in a while. (If you have kids, try arranging a childminding swap – you’ll take your friends’ kids if they’ll have yours the following week.)

A whole morning or afternoon is perfect for digging into a creative project. Whether you like to work with paint, clay, words, music or even food, give yourself the chance to make something. Don’t rush it, or feel that you have to produce something perfect or finished – just enjoy the process of creation.

If you aren’t in the creative mood, try curling up with a great book that you’ve been wanting to read for a while. Treat yourself to a mug of good coffee or hot chocolate too, and enjoy!

If you have … a weekend

Empty weekends are few and far between, and you may have to plan several months ahead to get one. It’s worth it, though: a whole weekend away from the busyness of life can refresh you, get your creative juices flowing, and help you think through the priorities and commitments that you have.

There are many places – some religious, others not – which welcome visitors to come on a retreat. Some retreats are run like courses (e.g. for painters or writers), others are very free-form and you can do whatever you like. Alternatively, you could just book yourself into a hotel, or go hiking for a weekend. Choose something which gets you away from the computer, the phone, and all your day-to-day worries – make yourself as uncontactable as possible!

I’d love to hear how you find quiet in your life, whether it’s for short or long periods.

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