Freedom (from the pressure)
Yesterday was the first day in a long time that I didn’t write anything at all. I didn’t write anything, I didn’t make a list, I didn’t go through and try to figure anything out – well, I stopped myself when I started doing that. And I made it a point to take the time to enjoy freedom. Just for a bit. For one day. I let myself be free from everything and simply enjoy the day.
It gets overwhelming sometimes when we need something to happen. And we need it to happen soon. We are working and working and trying to figure out what our next move will be, and that can interfere with actually being productive. It’s important to remind ourselves that we have to take a break sometimes. We have to stop. We have put too much in the way, and we can no longer find where our focus is at. We lose track of what’s going on, and we lose track of the fact that lots of things in our life need attention. We need attention. The people around us need attention. Life needs attention. Sometimes in order to actually focus, we have to allow ourselves to breathe for just a minute without feeling so much pressure. We have to let our minds recharge. We have to let them regroup so that we are better able to move forward in the days ahead.
We are bombarded daily by things we should and need to do. There is so much going on around us that we have to make sure we aren’t ignoring things that need to be priorities. We have to pay attention to the things that don’t get the attention they should, including ourselves. We have to give ourselves the freedom to appreciate and prioritize all of the areas in our lives that have been glossed over. The freedom to recharge. And the freedom to move forward feeling more comfortable and more focused in who we are and where we are going.
(This does not negate the last post… It’s simply a reminder that sometimes we have to take a short break to allow our focus time to return, and often times to return stronger than before. The focus does not disappear, it’s just that we remove the pressure, which has a tendency to build when we get stuck. And the break is not intended to ignore everything, simply to remind yourself to focus on other areas as well, while you feel the freedom of removing the pressure.)
(The book is still on sale for two more days for .99 on Amazon. (and barnes and noble) It’s a good source of freedom, and definitely lets you return more focused and ready for the challenges that come your way! 🙂 )
Posted on July 5, 2012, in Uncategorized and tagged 4, 4th of july, freedom, inspiration, motivation, pressure, writing. Bookmark the permalink. 58 Comments.
Good advice. I would add that we need to avoid being trapped by the “should” word. I “should” do this or I “should” do that. The shoulds will suck up all your energy and return little in the way of satisfaction.
🙂 Yes they will! Thanks for adding that!
Great post…. as usual. It’s strange how taking a break is the easiest thing to do but the hardest thing for people to understand. The festival I had recently attended was my major break I needed especially none stop working on my Haiti project. The same thing happened to me last year once I came back I was mellow very free flowing; unfortunately after 4 or 5 months I fell back in to the stressed and tight worker bee of society. Anyway I’m off topic, Keep up the great work.
Yes, I’m trying to fight off falling back into that stress! It keeps trying to creep it’s way back in and settle here!
I absolutely love the image of the flag pen and paper….wonderful
Thank you! 🙂
if i dont write for a few days, i feel weird. it usually takes me awhile to assemble a post because i write in spurts or re-edit like crazy haha
I have a tendency to write in spurts. But normally I have a huge outflow, then it stops for a while, and then it comes back. Kind of in waves.
Great thoughts~ I was thinking about this today, actually. I realized I hadn’t written anything yesterday but then realized that maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing. I find that too much for a long period of time drains my creative batteries. It’s good to take a break for a bit (although not too long) and then get back at it.
I’ve been drained a lot lately. And I’m continuously learning how important breaks are, particularly if they are used properly. Instead of just stressing out that I’m not doing something and I could be.
I really enjoyed your post.
I tried not to do anything on July 4th, planned on nothing but kids and hubby and fireworks, my body said no way are you relaxing and ended up in the er..haha. I am fine, but it’s just funny because I ignored my body so much working hard and then when I stopped for one day, I felt like there was something wrong..I guess my point is that your right, we should slow down.
🙂 Well I am glad that you are okay!! It’s always good to pay attention to your body. I need to do better about that, too.
We should all give ourselves a break once a week to reflect on the week that passed and think of the week to come.
I agree, that sounds like a good plan!
Outstanding reminder to us all. Congrats for having the sense to not neglect yourself (if only for a day). “The list” will always be there. Today is all we’ve got. Inhale. Thanks for causing me to take a deep, luxurious breath. Exhale. I’m really enjoying your perspective. Dan
Thank you! I’m glad you took a breath! Breathing is important I hear 🙂
And you can do ‘stand-up’. Too funny. Be well. Dan
🙂 You too!
Wonderful! Your sharing is so generous! 🙂
Thank you!
You know what I’d LOVE to do? Take a month off… go on a roadtrip across the US… see friends I haven’t seen in years and friends I’ve never met. That would be my ultimate recharge and freedom from pressure…
…just one problem… (besides finding the time and the money… actually the time is easy… I’d just have to quit my job… but then I’d have no money… hmmmmm… maybe I could wash dishes on the way… I could be good at that… I could even train others to do it too and earn some extra cash…)
*focus*… the one problem…you’d have to drag me back to work…
Yeah, I wouldn’t want to go back to work either! That’s the frustrating thing about it all! 🙂
You know, I’m seriously thinking of doing it… once my wife and son go, I might just have a mid life crisis and do it 🙂
Wonderful blog post!! Thank you for the encouragement and reminders! I’ll be buying your book tomorrow!
Thank you very much! I appreciate that! I’m so glad you stopped by to visit 🙂 I enjoy your blog!
Thank you!! It’s so encouraging to see and interact with other people helping people!! 🙂
You are so right. It doesn’t matter what your age or circumstances there are always those things that get neglected…more often than not ‘ourselves’ and quality time for what we enjoy rather then always something we ‘need’ to do. …Diane
Exactly! 🙂
Great Post! I wonder why we have this need to feel like we always need to be doing something?
There’s always something that can be done! 🙂
Yes, but the to-do list never seems to end, there is always something more you can do. I think we should put “take a break” on the to-do list, and after we done taking a break, we cross it off…another thing done 🙂
Haha, I think that is a fantastic idea!
Good for you and a great post. I think it’s hard for people, especially women, to relax and recharge. It took me a long time to realize it was okay to do nothing; that it’s not selfish; and that if I don’t take care of me, nobody else will. We women get so caught up in taking care of everybody, we forget to put ourselves at the top of the list. I learned, finally, that if I don’t recharge, I’m totally useless to anyone else, including myself.
🙂 I think you are right! I feel like I’m a whole lot better at dealing with everyone today than I was two days ago!
Thanks for stopping by AdventuresOverTheHill! There’s nothing quite as thrilling to a new blogger as having someone actually read it!
🙂 I enjoyed it, and I’ll be back!
My husband will love you for writing this! He says that I don’t know how to relax. Thanks for the inspiration — I’m a work in progress 🙂
Haha! I have a friend who doesn’t know how to relax. I tried to explain to her when we were on vacation at the beach a few years back that it’s okay to just sit and relax in the chair, but that didn’t work out! 🙂
LOL! I can relate! 🙂
Love this post! I think we all need to “unplug” once in a while 🙂 I recently did the same and loved every second of it http://wp.me/p2myYW-cF
Thanks for the link! I use that Ferris Bueller quote all the time 🙂
Ferris is the MAN!
yeah he is!
There is a lot of wisdom in this post and it resonate for me, too. It’s good to give ourselves permission to not write…I consider it a time for gestating the next poem or prose. We need that too and it’s easy to become overly complusive about our writing routines.
You are so right about that! We need that time and it’s way too easy to be overly compulsive about it! 🙂
Thankyou once more. A ‘timely’ reminder for me.
Hope you were able to recharge yesterday, and feel good for it. xox
Thank you! I feel a lot better today. I really do feel refreshed 🙂
I think every now and then a day like that is necessary. I wish i could say i have done something like you did yesterday in a while but no…sometimes i just feel the need to always do, and when i think about taking time off…i feel bad and think rest and just being free from daily pressure is an excuse to be lazy. Thanks for sharing this great post!
I do that, too! I start to feel bad, then I feel guilty, because I know there are things that need to be done. But I am working harder at remembering that it IS okay to take a break, and that things won’t totally collapse and that I don’t have to be so fatalistic about things, because I am VERY much that way. But yesterday was nice. And hopefully I can become better at it! 🙂
Loved your post today. Just bought your book!
Thank you so much!! I appreciate both of those statements more than I can say! 🙂
Where can I find your book?
It won’t let me insert links on comments, but here is the book on amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Lauren+Cropper
And here at barnes and noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Lauren-Cropper?keyword=Lauren+Cropper&store=allproducts
Thanks!
🙂
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