Enforcing a Pause

Does your mind sometimes act like it is at war with itself? Relaxation does not come easy to you? Is the noise in your head sometimes stiffening and deafening?

I have previously written about multipotentiality before, where a person has more than one talent or passion which they pursue. This is a term I relate quite strongly to, particularly as this moment when I have many different projects on-the-go.

However, the noise in my mind about what I have to do next; which task should take priority; who do I need to seek help from; how quickly do I need to move; why am I so scared to move? The constant questioning, slight movements forward versus pivoting and reverting back to an unfinished task has been very tiring. Even during my weekly meditation sessions, I have been largely unable to quieten my mind. Even my fitness watch has been telling me that my energy stores are nearly depleted at the end of each and every day.

There is so much information I am taking in right now as I embark on these new projects – so much to learn. I am sure some of you are also in a similar situation. Taking a brave journey, trying something new or even rehashing an old passion. Often times, you experience a mixture of fear and excitement, extreme drive and paralysing procrastination. But each day, you wake up and start again; chipping away at your goal (or multiple goals if you’re a multipotentialite like me!).

However, I took a few days out to “relax”. Four days to be precise. I started on the journey thinking it would be impossible to unwind in just a handful of days. But, I wanted to give myself the best chance possible:

1. I wrote a to-do list of only 3 – 4 short but achievable project tasks I could complete during my time away. That made me feel much less guilty about taking some time out.

2. I purposely did not plan any sightseeing activities for my stay. I gave myself prior permission to go with the flow and only make any decisions of that nature the previous night of each day. That alleviated the stress of feeling like I needed to make the most of every minute during my trip.

3. I went to bed earlier than normal each night and rose slightly earlier without any alarm clock. That allowed me to temporarily revert back to my natural rhythm and stopped me from staying up late, thinking about things I should be doing or aimlessly browsing on my phone.

4. Now, I can’t take credit for this one, but the network reception on my phone was poor and sometimes stopped working altogether. The WiFi at the accommodation was also extremely poor, so I had a very limited number of things I could do on my phone. This is not something I had expected to happen, but it turned out to be such a monumental part of my ability to relax.

The end result was that I had an absolutely fantastic trip! I did not overindulge in food as I normally would on holiday; perhaps because I did not put myself under any pressure. A four day trip made me feel like I had been away for two weeks and so far, the feeling has remained with me, nearly a week later.

I hope these tips give you some food-for-thought about not only planning an enforced pause in the busyness of your mind and life at the moment, but also given you some thoughts on how you can help yourself to relax during your pause.

If all else fails and you take nothing away from this post, you can hopefully take some joy from the beautiful view I woke up to each morning.