I love to work, and maybe you do, too. Work is engaging, fulfilling, stimulating and keeps our brains active and young. However…
All things in nature exist in a balance. Dark and light, hot and cold, wet and dry, fast and slow. The central nervous system needs balance, too. It’s good for us to be enthused and on the go, but without some balancing downtime, the result can be chronic stress and burnout. This is why I am such an advocate of taking a pause.
What does that mean? To me, taking a pause can be anything from a two-minute deep breathing session when I feel stress mounting, to taking a no-exceptions social media and screen break on the weekends, to a full-blown vacation where I don’t even look at a computer or engage with any work at all.
Anyone can take periodic time-outs from work, whether they last minutes or hours or the weekend. And if you are sitting on unused vacation time, I urge you to take it! Have you heard about “revenge travel”? It’s the trendy term for people traveling like crazy now, to make up for two years of staying home. (Hence all the crowded airports!) But why make it about revenge? I say engage in “relief travel.”
In whatever way you can, bottom line: Pause whenever you can. Set boundaries between work and rest, stress and relaxation, the ordinary and the extraordinary. Get out there and explore. Breathe. Feel the sun. Go on an adventure. Whether it’s two minutes or two days or two weeks, you deserve relief travel (even if it’s only in your imagination). Your brain and body will thank you when you return to your regular life refreshed, renewed, de-stressed and vibrant. drstaciestephenson.com
