I'm So Grateful That I Learned to Take Time Off

A friend of mine and his wife just came back from a Caribbean trip in a tropical paradise. He was gone for over a week at one of those expensive inclusive resorts. As soon as he got back I was anxious to know how he enjoyed his rest and relaxation. I was shocked to hear him say, "To be honest, I was bored." Now my friend is a very successful realtor. He's always on top of his game and available whenever anyone needs him. He's not unlike other successful people who are always on-call and at the mercy of their cellphones. Which begs the question, "How can these type of people relax?" Well, I think I have an answer for you, only because I was and am such a person. As a business person I have to be available 24/7 and move at warp speed. Thankfully, I found a life coach who was willing to spend many hours of deprogramming with me to and teach me how to relax. Now I must admit that this life coach had the patience of a saint. I'm one of those type A personalities that started a pa
per route at 9 years old. I also had two younger siblings that were nine and eleven years younger than myself which made me the live-in nanny. By the time I was ten I could run errands, feed the kids, do homework, finish my paper route and do it all without any help of a power drink. My adrenalin was in full gear and kept me going.Fast forward to about two years ago and I had grown into super woman, constantly on a super charged flow of an adrenalin rush. When I found this life coach at a trade show and told her I suffered from migraines every three weeks, it came as no surprise to me when she said my body was saying "enough." She said that in order to get myself healthy I needed to know how to relax and smell the roses. Now if you think that this would be easy, it wasn't. There was a big on/off switch inside me that seemed to be permanently locked on "on" with all the adrenalin I had corroded it with. My coach suggested that I take a few hours each weekend and maybe work on
a hobby. I asked her if writing would be O.K. and she said "fine." Little did she know that I decided to write my memoirs. I quickly turned my hobby into just another thing to throw myself into. After all, I needed to know about book signing deals, public speaking, agents etc. It became painfully clear that any hobby would ultimately turn into another to-do list and this just wasn't the object of the exercise. I'm so grateful that she didn't give up on me and the next thing that she suggested was a Saturday nap. This seemed out of the question for my busy lifestyle but I thought I give it a try. Now for the sake of not making this article a novel, I'll fast forward past all the stops and starts of trying to nap. I finally learned how to shut myself off in a darkened bedroom knowing that my family respected these precious few hours and they were just for me. I had learned to let go. I had learned that the world would be OK without me. I had learned to re-charge and get my ad
renalin down to normal levels. As the months passed I found that my Saturday naps were easy, sometimes a little too easy.Today I can proudly say that I only get migraines about three times a year and usually when I'm stressed. I took the simple exercise of real naps and created my "awake naps." I don't need a Saturday afternoon to relax and I can now truly give myself into the moment at any time of the week. In order to really be grateful for anything, you need to take the time to appreciate your surroundings, including people, places and things.I now can sit and look out onto a turquoise ocean and feel the warm sand between my toes. I can take a deep breath of sea air and exhale, knowing my body is delighted with a fresh intake of oxygen. I can marvel at the children's laughter as they play along the beach. I can taste the coconut as I slowly sip on a tropical drink, the coolness of the glass in sharp contrast to the rest of my body as the sun warms it. I've awakened all se
nses and want this moment to last forever. I've made it. I'm healthy, relaxed and above all, not bored.

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