To perform optimally, it’s important to take time to de-stress, relax, and enjoy yourself. Finding a spot in nature to relax and feel free makes all the difference between burnout, just cruising along, and feeling recharged, ready to do battle once more.

Bodies Need TLC

When we don’t take care of ourselves, we run into difficulties. It begins with the little things like a bum knee or a headache which cannot be traced back to the source. But later, it can become a more serious issue when feeling more and more rundown over time. Even though you think you slept well, you wake up and never feel refreshed. You feel exhausted and it’s only 8 AM!

It may come as a surprise to some of us, but our body, mind, and soul need down time. Just like how when we reach REM sleep, our brain goes to work reorganizing our memories of the day to catalog them, our body must get decent rest in between periods of focused activity.

Slowing Down to Speed Up

It might seem counterintuitive to slow down to speed back up, but it’s true. The idea of going 100% all the time is a nice theory, but it’s just not possible. The human body was never designed for excessive repetitive motion nor to stay busy continuously for 16 hours straight. There’s a reason why the business workday is supposed to be eight hours Monday to Friday.

Our mind needs time to decompress and our bodies must de-stress. Having all that Cortisol running around the bloodstream is not healthy and quickly becomes detrimental to health if it continues at too high a level. Managing stressful situations better and learning to calm yourself during troubling events not only slows your racing heart but gets your stress management under control at the same time.

Sitting in Nature

One way to create solace and calm the mind is to sit in nature. You can create an oasis in your garden environment (click view site to learn how) or you can head to your local park. Turning your backyard into a peaceful place to enjoy the quiet, look at the plants, and enjoy the feel of the grass underfoot is a great way to de-stress. Perhaps casually flicking through a magazine you’ve been meaning to read is your personal paradise? Choose what works for you and indulge yourself.

In the manufactured world we live in today with machinery, computers, smartphones and more, it’s easy to lose sight of the natural world. The tweeting of the birds (not Twitter), the sway of the branches of the trees on a windy day walking through the park, or the first bloom of your flowers all provide a life-affirming fullness that doesn’t come from buying more stuff. Getting away from it all is necessary for everyone to survive the constant demands of living in a busy metropolis.

However you currently spend your day, whether you’re a busy executive, a healthcare professional or a stay-at-parent, you should know that to get the most out of life, you’ve got to pace yourself. That doesn’t mean being lazy, but it does mean finding the time to stop, breathe slowly, enjoy nature, eat better, and get some exercise. After all, you cannot burn the candle at both ends and hope to win at life that way.