How to Relax

This time last year I was in Italy. I spent a month before I was to go complaining, I said I had too much work to be doing to go away. As soon as I arrived at Manchester airport and was ordering my signature pre flight green tea I knew I needed to change my attitude. I decided I needed to learn how to relax and enjoy a holiday and embrace down time.

Everyone has their own way of relaxing. I have learnt over the past year that my relaxing time is when I am on a long walk with my camera in hand and a notebook in my pocket. I also enjoy exercise (I still need to be doing more of it), going for a run, swim or playing on Kinect really makes me feel full of energy, positive and filled with lots of motivation. I also really like to meet friends for coffee or even sit with a coffee and enjoy a book.

I wont lie, I am constantly thinking in business mode during all of my relaxation methods, but business is something I am passionate about. I should mention that when I say business please don’t think of boring figures and suits… no no, I am thinking of ways to improve my blog, my photography, ideas towards my business plan, ways I can improve within an internship and much more. I am not someone who can sit in the sunshine and just sleep, having an hour go by with nothing proactive done makes me feel very demotivated. I would rather sit in the sunshine and read, make lists of things I plan to do, jot down ideas and so on. Best of all I would rather to walk and adventure in the sunshine. I think you understand what I am trying to say, everyone has their own way to relax and you don’t have to conform to what others enjoy doing.

Extreme sports may be what you love to do, or volunteering or even trekking through the jungle could be your thing and maybe you don’t know it…yet ! As you pass school, college, university and move on to new places you find yourself learning more about who you are. You realise that maybe you never really liked being part of a certain group of friends or maybe you have learnt you love fashion much more than you realised. To those of you who are still in school, try out new things, learn a language, do a new sport which you have never thought of doing and let your ears hear some different. You may be surprised to find that you suddenly have new interests and a love for something you didn’t realise. Your friends may not like your new sport interest or your love for indie music but don’t worry about that, start finding out who you are. This is all part of learning to relax and finding out what you enjoy doing in your spare time.

You don’t have to conform to the usual types of relaxation such as watching tv or sleeping. In my opinion there is way to much to be doing in this wonderful life to be spending your days sleeping and watching tv (channel hopping over rubbish shows). When it comes to video games, well, I am all for a bit of Xbox, Kinect and Nintendo DS – I must have had a very proactive day to then enjoy a night of gaming though.

I am heading to Austria in a few weeks and guess what…. I can’t wait. If any negative thoughts come into my head I quickly turn to my notebook and look at my brainstorm on the notes I have made about an idea for a video I want to film while I am away. I look at the book waiting to be read on the plane and via Youtube I check the slopes I will ski (fall) down. I plan to experience new things, try new foods and embrace the culture I will be surrounded by. I will be reporting back to you on my adventures in Austria, there will be lots of photographs and videos for you to enjoy.

 I am also looking forward to spending time with my friends, it has been quite some time since I have seen them all and I really can’t wait. My friends are business geeks too, they also make me laugh, give me lots of inspiration and enjoy embracing new cultures. You have to surround yourself with people who make you feel good, people who make you laugh and share the same experiences.