Do you have room to breathe in your life? Many of us don’t even know what this means. Room to breathe is purposefully making time to rest so that we can build up our strength and give ourselves time to think about what to do next.
When we wake up in the morning, we must be rested and full of energy to start a new day. The problem is that many of us do not sleep well, so we are already exhausted even before the day begins. Then we start thinking about all the things we have to accomplish that day and our brains start spinning in circles.
Our calendars are full and we are trying to carry loads that we weren’t meant to carry. We have been brainwashed into believing that the busier we are, the more value we have, but in reality, all this does is stress our bodies, minds, and emotions.
Our bodies need rest to function properly. Both religion and science support this fact. This means a good night’s rest and not straining during the day trying to accomplish what only 3 people were supposed to do. We need to create some room to breathe in our lives! Here are some ideas:
To create room to breathe on your calendar. This is one of the areas in which people often overdo themselves. Our culture pushes us to keep a busy schedule, convincing us that this is the way to find happiness and success. Wrong! All you have to do is look around you and see important, busy people who have breakdowns and all kinds of health problems caused by too much stress. We are definitely our worst enemies!
To create room to breathe in your house. Make your living space as simple as possible, getting rid of everything you don’t need. Tidy up, rearrange, redecorate. A home should be easy on the eyes, easy to clean, and have enough room to move around safely. Too many things cost money and cause stress.
To create room to breathe in your mind. If you are focused on too many things, your mind will be full of chaos and confusion. Yes, there are tons of things you could do, but how many are important? When you feel stress building up, take a break. Find a comfortable place to sit alone and try to block out any stressful thoughts. Meditate, pray, listen to calm and relaxing music. Make this a daily habit.
To create room to breathe on your finances. Spending more than we have is a common practice today. Just load it up and pay tomorrow. It is not a good idea! Getting into debt is easy, but paying your bills is difficult. Our culture tells us that we deserve what we want, but all of this gets us into trouble. Needs and wants are very different and we don’t always need what we want.
To create room to breathe in your relationships. We all struggle with family and friends due to our selfish nature. Be loving and forgiving. Let go of the things that are not important and allow others to be who they are and not who you expect them to be.