Relax!
You’ve heard that word since the first time you got angry or upset. Or maybe it’s a word in your head that beacons reality. There is pent-up frustration, worry or concern about the present or the future — or both — and nervousness about what’s about to happen in the world, at work, at home or in your personal life.
"Relax" is easy to say, hard to do.
Here are my secrets for maintaining inner peace and fulfillment in a world filled with distractions, diversions and distortions:
1. Write down everything clogging your brain. Get rid of your mental clutter. As soon as you write the details, you no longer have to dwell on them or remember them and your mind is free to think. Try it. It’s amazing and mentally relaxing. The bonus of an uncluttered mind is that ideas and resolutions to your issues and challenges will begin to manifest themselves daily.
2. Write down your present situation. What’s going on in your life right now? What’s the status of all things work, family, friends, life and self? More amazing than unclogging, writing your present situation actually creates answers to situations that have been bugging you. Oh, and it also helps relax you.
3. Write down your dreams and thoughts. Everyone has thoughts of “one day I’ll …” or “someday I’ll …” but those words are usually just spoken. Those thoughts are just pipe dreams until they’re written down, formalized and crystallized. Writing your dreams will help you see a more focused picture of them.
4. Find a quiet park or a garden where you can sit and think, read or write for an hour. Invest quality time with yourself daily. This is the most relaxing of all outlets if you have done the first three things I’ve recommended.
5. Read something positive and write down the most inspiring quotes. Create a mailing list of important people to share them with. Make sure you acknowledge the author.
6. Mentally go to all the positive places you’ve been before. Those thoughts will lead you to stories and lessons; write them down right away, then blog them.
6.5. Blog your thoughts, ideas and experiences. Blogging not only creates a public avenue for you to publish and express yourself, but it also positions you and your views to the world. Your ideas may matter to some people, and the feeling of accomplishment will give you a feeling of personal pride and fulfillment. I have decided that 2013 will be my “year of the blog,” consisting of an intensive, daily effort for me to talk about and video about sales, business and life. You can see my blog history at salesblog.com. Got blog? Air your thoughts to the world!
There are other things you can do beyond writing to relax.
• Play with a kid. It’s an amazing elixir for relaxing and having fun.
• Go shopping for yourself. It makes you feel good to do things for you.
• Make a list of 10 people from high school or college you want to reconnect with. Call them, don’t just Facebook them. These are people you knew in your responsibility-free days.
• Take a walk someplace you’ve never been before. Look around as you walk. Marvel at things. Take a few pictures. Write a few notes. Sit down and soak it in.
• Book a weekend trip. Make a list of the places you’ll go and the things you’ll do. Often just the action of writing and planning the getaway will change your mood and your thinking, and that can calm you.
Need a vacation? That’s because you’re not relaxing every day. When the “need to get away” is a dominant thought, it’s a symptom, not a problem or a goal. The reality is you’re not relaxing on a daily basis.
It’s likely you’ll need to make some personal changes if true relaxation is to permeate your life. Avoid negative events, negative things, negative news and especially negative people.
“Jeffrey, I can’t eliminate these things!” you exclaim.
Relax, just relax.
Gitomer is the author of "The Sales Bible" and "The Little Red Book of Selling." President of Charlotte-based Buy Gitomer, he gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts Internet training programs on selling and customer service at trainone.com. He can be reached at salesman@gitomer.com.
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