“What!” I shouted.
Philip had suggested I took some time out from working, and it was a Monday morning. (All this because I found it very hard to get out of bed yesterday morning).
The thought of having some time doing nothing very much at all on a Monday of all days was indeed a shock. Usually the body lets you know when it’s time to stop, because it gets ill in one way or another. But what about if you could let yourself have some time off, during the week, without being ill?
This is what I was reflecting on, after his suggestion. I decided to experiment, and so yesterday morning saw me still in my dressing gown at 9.30am; even still in my dressing gown at 10am! Having done nothing other than a few domestic things like tidying the kitchen.
I checked in with myself the whole time — how was it doing this; how did my body feel; what was I thinking. Result — by 10am I decided I wanted to have a shower and wash my hair, get dressed etc. So I did.
The computer had been switched on by me earlier, so I checked emails to see if there was anything urgent, which there wasn’t. And then I found myself parcelling up some christmas presents to take to the Post Office (never again, next year it’ll all be done by internet!).
Anyway, suffice to say that my experiment lasted all day, with the only commitment my regular 2 hour volunteering slot in the afternoon looking after a teenager with special needs.
By the end of the evening I was beginning to feel a bit more like myself, ie motivated and energetic. I had one of my regular conference calls at 8pm, by which time I’m usually feeling quite tired, but last night, I noticed I was even perky!
Moral of the story: listen to your body and act on what it’s telling you. Otherwise you risk it telling you in no uncertain terms, because if you need to stop, one way or another, your body will stop you. So RichThinking Downtime then becomes simply a part of the whole life of a RichThinker.
It reminds me of a story told me by Robert Holden, author of Success Intelligence, when he decided to interrupt his usual Monday morning habits by committing to playing golf first thing. It took him some time to change his habits, but finally he was free to choose.
And that’s what RichThinking is all about — having the freedom to choose your thoughts, feelings and consequent behaviour.
What do you do on a Monday morning?
Jane
I have used the principles I write about here in RichThinkers to bring about all kinds of things in my life, including running a successful counselling practice and health clinic business. Coming from a place of inspiration has enabled me to bring meaning and magic into all that I do, and my background in psychotherapy and counselling, combined with practical business skills, means I am uniquely positioned to help you in both the inner and the outer levels of success. (
One Comment
Taking time out is a good thing. A friend was talking the other day about being really busy and getting ill through the process. She realised that it was OK to to be busy as long as she is in flow with it. The moment she puts her shoulder to the wheel and starts to push it becomes busy from an unhealthy place. The illness was her message, it has made me think how much I push myself.
Thanks for the post it is good to break patterns and listen to those quite messages.
All the best to you with Rich thoughts
Paul Harvey