Always busy – how do you find peace in the chaos?

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Do you feel like you always have to keep busy? That you always have to do something useful? And do you crave silence and some inner peace? Good plan, let’s see.

We live in a rainbow of chaos." -Cezanne | Rainbow, Rainbow card, Succulent  tattoo

Always wanting to do something useful

I know how it feels, believe me. Living with the idea that you’d better do something useful. That you’d better finish one more task, take on one more project, and make one more change. Because when that task is done you can finally rest .

The problem with this, of course, is that this is rarely true. Yes – when you have completed all those tasks you should be able to rest. But you don’t. Because you are used to just moving on to the next task.

I hear this very often from people who like to work effectively: they have a hard time relaxing. They always want to do something useful. It feels impossible to just relax on the couch for an hour. Because you might as well pick up the vacuum cleaner, scrub the toilet or drive to the hardware store to finally get that one skirting board.

But you can’t go on forever

At least – it is possible. And there are many people who do it. But as far as I’m concerned, these are not always the examples you would like to aspire to. Because in a society in which so many people feel constantly stressed and overwhelmed, get stressed or even end up in a burnout, it is wise to question what we consider ‘normal’.

And of course it depends on your character. Because there are people who keep busy without any problems, and wouldn’t want it any other way. And if you feel happy and happy – why change it?

But if you feel like you should be doing useful things when you really don’t feel like it , it’s interesting to see if you can adjust something.

Rest is useful

Of course you already knew this, but we seem to forget it so often. Almost all of us believe that happiness, tranquility and contentment lie hidden in the future . And that we can experience it by doing and changing things .

  • When I finish this project I can finally rest.
  • If I earn this amount I will be happy.
  • As soon as I don’t have to do this anymore, I’m happy.

And if you really believe this, it makes sense that you will always be busy. Because we all want to feel happy and calm, so we do whatever it takes to make that happen.

But in this quest for future happiness, we lose sight of the fact that this seductive story is not true. And it doesn’t make sense for a few reasons:

  1. The future only exists in our minds, happiness cannot happen in the future.
  2. There is always only now, so you can only experience happiness in the moment.
  3. By pushing your happiness forward, you feel constantly dissatisfied in the moment, and you are endlessly working on solving that dissatisfaction so that you can be happy in the future. And that brings you back to point 1.

This is the rat race . Constantly working harder and harder to be happy in the future . While in the meantime you always feel a bit dissatisfied, tense and overwhelmed.

Rest, lounging, expecting nothing from yourself – these things are a cure for the endless cycle. Doing nothing is more useful than it seems.

7 Surprising Reasons You Keep Creating Chaos - | Live a Life You Love

Ways to weave doing nothing into your life

All nice. But if you are one of those people who prefers to be always busy with useful things, how do you weave this kind of tranquility into your life? How can you make more room for rest, without the unrest that you experience because you do nothing useful for a while?

Simple: you plant the uselessness in .

it is not that hard. You grab your agenda and choose a moment when you do ‘nothing’ for at least an hour. For example, a moment when you take a nap without feeling guilty. Or on which you take a walk while your smartphone is allowed to take a nap at home.

You organize small moments of peace and freedom in your week, and you challenge yourself to really lounge around and expect nothing of yourself .

And the crazy thing is, it can feel particularly useful. After all, you stick to your schedule and you help to keep yourself mentally healthy. Pretty nice.

you are not a robot

Exactly – this is the gist of the story. You are not a robot. You are human. Many people are trying to become more and more like robots – more and more productive, more and more efficient. But this is getting less interesting by the day.

Why? The more real artificial intelligence is incorporated in our lives, the more clearly we see that it is not so interesting to live as if you were a machine.

Always keep the machines running. That’s what they are made for. You thrive when you occasionally take the time to do nothing at all. If you give yourself the space to not be busy for a while .

  • Go for a walk for a few hours.
  • Visit family without expecting anything.
  • Walk around aimlessly and pet a dog or watch the ducks.
  • Sit down in a coffee shop with a nice book.
  • Give yourself an afternoon off.

Inhale deeply and exhale slowly . Happiness can only be experienced in this moment. Not later, not tomorrow – now. Don’t keep running endlessly. Make room for appreciation for your life as it is now. Even if your life isn’t perfect right now.

Because that is ultimately all that needs to be done. If you can be content with this moment, then you are happy. Then you’re done. Then you can finally relax. Give it a try – it’s quite nice.

Find more time for yourself

Finding time for yourself is challenging sometimes. Maybe because you have a busy life, maybe because you feel guilty or feel you don’t deserve it.

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7 Reasons Why Laughter Really Is The Best Medicine

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There’s no denying the fact that having a sense of humor is important. It helps heal wounds, mend relationships, and generally brings about positive things to your life. Laughing won’t cost you anything, it’s free and is readily available. Here are the top reasons why you should consider laughing more often:

  1. It lessens the negative effects of stress

When you’re feeling stressed out, hang out with someone you know can make you laugh. Someone who knows which buttons to push to draw out laughter from you. You’ll feel much better after and you’ll feel like a ton of weight has been lifted off your shoulders.

  1. It makes you feel happy

Look at the way children laugh. They laugh with so much abandon that you’ll find yourself laughing along with them. A child’s uninhibited laughter is contagious. It really does make you feel happy.

  1. It makes you think positively

When you laugh you forget your worries for a brief period of time. Your thoughts get diverted from negativity to positivity. Watch your favorite comedy on TV or on YouTube, and you’ll forget whatever it was that was bothering you!

  1. It helps ease the pain

When you’re sick, you feel pain when you move around. You think dark thoughts that aren’t really helping you recover from your illness. With laughter, however, you are able to ease the pain even for just a bit. You’ll probably still be sick, but at least you’ll be more comfortable as your mind is no longer focused solely on your pain.

  1. It makes you more resilient

No matter what life throws at you, if you have a sense of humor, you can get through almost anything. You’ll have negative thoughts after something catastrophic happens to you, but with your humor, you’ll always find a way out of the darkness.

  1. It makes you feel relaxed

Laughter can help you overcome your negative thoughts. Once that’s out of the way, you’ll feel so much better. You’ll feel happier, and you’ll feel more relaxed. When you’re around other people, you’ll be more open to meaningful and fun conversations.

  1. It strengthens relationships

When you share laughter with other people, it makes you feel closer to them. You share a special bond that laughing together has created. As long as you don’t laugh at someone else’s expense, then you’re building strong and positive relationships with people.

 

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7 Easy Methods To Have Happy Thoughts Throughout The Day

FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFeeling happy throughout the day isn’t impossible. Sure, you may have some ups and downs in your day, but you never let those down moments linger. Instead, you capitalize on your ups to help sustain your positivity throughout the day. Here are seven ways you can make sure you have happy thoughts daily:

  1. Have a daily to-do list

Your to-do list doesn’t have to be set in stone, but it should basically plan out what you’re going to do on that day. Sure, you can do something spontaneous but sticking to a to-do list will help you feel happy everytime you tick something off that list.

  1. Reward yourself for every small win

Every time you do something on your to-do list, you can give yourself a pat on the back. Or you can go stand up from your computer, and take a short break. Having a reward system in place is important to keep motivating yourself.

  1. Look forward to making someone smile

When you make someone smile, you feel great too. You feel happy, and you think positive thoughts. When someone smiles at you, you feel compelled to smile back at them too.

  1. Do something kind every day

Random acts of kindness will make you feel happy. Whether you’re helping out someone you know or a total stranger, you’re doing a good deed. When you do something kind because you want to do it, you don’t feel compelled to take photos so you can post on social media. Genuinely kind people don’t need to broadcast their activities to the world.

  1. Compliment someone and mean it

When you compliment someone and mean it, you make that person happy. However, if you make a fake compliment, it can backfire on you so make sure you avoid doing that. If you’ve got nothing nice to say, don’t say anything.

  1. Go for a quick run

A quick run or brisk walking in your street or building during your breaks is a good idea. If you’re feeling overwhelmed with work, doing short bursts of exercise will help you get back on track and help you think happy thoughts again.

  1. Hang out with happy people

Who better to help you think happy thoughts than hanging out with them happy folks? Positive people will influence you to think happy thoughts instead of bad ones.Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

10 Main Approaches to Move Others to Be Their Best

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We all know people who are inspiring. But just how does one inspire others? Here are ten main simple rules you can inspire people to be their best, let them jump and fly and touch the sky:

 

Be a good example. People watch what you do more than they listen to what you say. Be someone worth emulating.

 

 

Care about others. People don’t care about how much you know until they know how much you care. Ask questions. Take a genuine interest in people.

Encouragement. Everyone goes through tough times. When you support people and encourage them through these times, you’ll be inspiring them to see the best in themselves and in the situation.

Be inspired yourself. Look for people, ideas, environments and knowledge that you find inspiring and motivating.

Share from your own experience. You have more to share than you realize. Mine the rich experiences of your life and share your wisdom from your unique point of view. You may be the only one who can touch someone with your inspiring message.

 

Be vulnerable. Be willing to share your failures as well as your successes. Others will relate to you. They’ll understand that they’re not the only ones with challenges.

Tell stories. Facts tell and stories sell. They inspire, too. We learn best from parables and we all need to develop our own inspiring stories.

Be a good communicator. Increasing your ability to communicate effectively is a critical element for you to inspire others. Watch how you speak and what you say. Invest in your communication skills.

Challenge people. Many of us have had teachers who at times seemed more like tormentors than mentors. They challenged us to do our best, and we were better for it. Practice “carefrontation”—the careful and caring confrontation of others.

Read. It may not follow that all readers are leaders, but certainly all leaders are readers. Stay informed. Share what you read with others. Tell people about books that have inspired you.

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