X5 Easy Ways to Discover Peace in a Busy Business World
Podcasts, books, Mother Nature & less about perfection & more about finding your own nook of paradise with space to think...
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about how it’s so important to find space to discover peace and a slice of solace amongst the bustle of everyday and business life. Don’t get me wrong, I love my business and the clients I work with but finding downtime is crucial for our and my own mental health and wellbeing.
It’s also great for collecting your swirling thoughts without interruption and enables you to think things through without the pressure of other tasks fighting for your attention.
I’ve compiled a list of X10 things I find help me to switch off (they might be the same for you too), to gain perspective and to take time to digest what’s been happening in the world around me and in my own world too:
Podcasts
I take my son to college pretty much daily, and whilst he likes to listen to his music on his headphones, (he’s autistic so this is self-soothing for him) I take the opportunity to listen to podcasts such as: Happy Place by Fearne Cotton, Canopy & Stars, A Life More Wild, Emma Gannon’s Ctrl, Alt, Delete (Although this has finished the re-runs and archives are all still available) & How to Fail by Elizabeth Day (her latest read Friendaholic is thought provoking & insightful) along with Founded & Grounded by Ollie Collard and now featuring Laura Rawlings.
Some of these feed your soul, some spark a lightbulb moment of understanding & others chat on interesting topics both personal and business with a more holistic view of recognising that each part of our lives are intertwined with one another.
Taking Walks with the Dog
I live in an area where at the bottom of our road are the most lovely walks in the woods, where you bypass animals nestled amongst their natural habitat and hear nature chirping gleefully in the trees all around you. Luckily, we have a dog (although naturally it’s not necessary to have one to enjoy Mother Nature) and whilst he is nose first in the grass and dusty paths, I look up to see the sky, listen to the gentle creak of the oaks as they sway in the breeze and find birdsong absolutely therapeutic for the soul.
Finding a small chunk of my day to take a stroll always helps to take me out of my own head where I can be buried in deep thought from writing content, and it brings me into the beauty of the world that surrounds us. Keeping us afloat in an ecosystem that we share with it.
Exercise
I find exercise one of a number of ways to clear my head and to restore my inner calm after a busy working day, or even a hectic weekend day. If it’s a weekend it sets me up for the day and if it’s an evening class it sets me up for the next day.
Not solely for how it makes you look but more in how it makes you feel. I do Zumba, yoga and walking to name a few but I also have learned to listen to my body and to do what it feels it needs, not solely in needing a HIIT style workout for instance but in recognising that sometimes we also need to slow down and reconnect. In fact, sometimes, it’s about grounding ourselves. Resetting the equilibrium before we begin again.
Reading
If you know me and have followed me for a while now, you’ll know I love to read anything and everything. I subscribe to a few Substack’s, newspapers and buy books a plenty. Currently I’m reading Landlines by Raynor Winn — the 3rd book in her present trio of reads and as always, her writing is deeply connecting, vivid and so descriptive you have no choice but to be pulled in and wrapped up within her beautiful words. The perfect match if you’re needing to feed your soul and mentally breathe.
If I’m feeling that the negativity in the news or the overly emotive headlines are impacting me, I tune away from it for a short while and turn over my phone — channelling my energy into escapism which gives room for your mind to shuffle through thoughts and to re-energise the inner reserve tanks once again.
Getting Some Headspace & Planning for Time Out
I have two favourite spots inside the house, one being my office ( I have plants and candles as well as the working essentials) and the second is our loft conversion which is also our master bedroom. Plus, one armchair which used to belong to my grandparents when they were alive (called GG for grandma & grandpa) and instantly it makes me feel at peace as I snuggle in and turn the pages of a good book or where I can let my mind explore the working day’s achievements or challenges.
I don’t know about you but my body generally tells me when it needs to take a break. I don’t always listen to it and sometimes it forces me to act by how it makes me feel when I push it a little too far (easy to do when you run your own business). I do find I have to consciously tune in to my inner thoughts and feelings. Tempting as it is to dismiss the signs of needing a break, I find it’s important to trust your gut — it usually knows what’s good for us.
It’s a Personal Thing…
It’s probably more about how we feel when we seek space and peace and less about the thing that we actually do to relax. Finding what works for us as individuals rather than the masses and reconnecting ourselves with what we need in order to find balance again. It’s less about resting perfection as an unattainable standard and more about the act of doing something outside of our working day. It need not be something we peddle online as the best solution with our rested features beaming from ear to ear. It’s just for us in our own world, our own homes and fits our own definition of what relaxing means to each of us. It’s not generic. It’s personal. Bespoke to everyone of us.
What works for me, might be entirely different to you but what truly matters is that we take care of ourselves and don’t push away our bodies signs of needing to take a break. Active listening isn’t just reserved for the workplace as its importance is relevant to us and our inner selves. Listening to our inner voice and monologue.
Remembering that our health will always be our wealth and cannot be replaced by material items or the latest achievement if we don’t look after the body that makes it all happen. If you do one thing today, do something for yourself that brings you a sense of calm. Shut out the noise and online chatter. Find the tiny nook of paradise in your home or outside in your environment and discover the wonder that lies there, the beauty of silence and the warmth of not having to be anything or to be anywhere.
Learning to switch off is just as powerful as learning a new skill or in maintaining your professional excellence. It’s imperative to your functioning ability to stride forwards each day, in your life, in your role, in your business — not just literally but figuratively too.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this read and can take something from it. If you did, consider subscribing and supporting my work.
NB: All Artistic Credit goes to my creative, autistic son as work experience (and because he likes it) from his college Creative Media course.
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