Self care and the art of learning to switch off

However, last week I spent a week in Thailand on a yoga and meditation retreat to do exactly that - switch off, relax and try and unwind. It didn’t really start out that way though.

Booking the wrong flights, cancelled flights due to weather, the effects of the ongoing Coronavirus and being masked up on the flight, it wasn’t the ideal start to my journey. The flight was then delayed on the tarmac which made me think I shouldn’t be on this plane. I had a very short meltdown with anxiety and worry but let me explain why this happened.

I do not switch off enough! Over stimulation and constantly having my mind occupied by doing and working on something leaves, not only your mind over stimulated, but also your body which can lead to higher levels of anxiousness and feeling out of control.

I won’t bore you or try and go into how our nervous system works but, for me, it was definitely in ‘fight or flight’ mode (actually, it was more like the ‘not taking a flight’ mode!).

Luckily for me I became fully aware of how I was starting to think and feel and got control again pretty fast by using some breathing techniques as I sat back down on my seat ready for take off.

Have you experienced this? If so, you’ll appreciate it can be really frightening. At this point you are probably thinking, ‘What? Mr Mindset? I thought you had this all under control!’

I pride myself in saying I do have it under control most of the time but on this particular occasion I lost control and let worry and anxiety take over me and that left me feeling out of control, something which can happen to anyone. However, what I discovered on the trip itself was what the trigger to those feelings of anxiety really was - it was feeling out of control!

So many times we all think we are in control. In my daily work and in my business it’s how I think, how I show up and how I perform. Yes, perform - I said it!

I have conditioned my mind and body to act and think a certain way each day so that I am moving in the direction I want to go in life and in business. Switch all that off by doing absolutely nothing and the overactive mind starts to kick in and create problems to solve out of absolutely nothing.

After a few days of yoga, sun, sea and coconuts I relaxed and could see and feel a notable difference and my body began to really relax.

It is really, really important that we all have something, or some type of habit and practice, to implement so that we can learn to stop or lessen times of anxiety. What can you do daily that can help you unwind and switch off?

Perhaps get outdoors more, switch off your phone more, practise meditation, read a little more; exercise and hydrate better, eat better food, drink less coffee . . .

The list could go on and there really is so much we can do but for one reason or another do not do. What that trip helped me do more than anything is to reconnect again to be able to do all those things better. More importantly you learn how to switch off more and not just more but also better and to let go of a feeling like I need to be in control all the time.

In fact it teaches you to let go more and appreciate the journey better by letting go of control more often! Have a great week.