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BlogWHAT YOU DO

Take Regular Holidays

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Who doesn’t love a holiday? It’s something that most of us really look forward to, and for good reason too…

Why are holidays important?

Holidays play an essential role in our physical, mental and spiritual health and well-being. Some of the ways in which holidays do this include…

Help us to de-stress: It’s amazing how much stress we carry with us day to day without even noticing. All of us have our own version of stress. It could include job related stress, such as the burden of meeting tight deadlines, work place politics, or, even being unemployed. It may be financial stress, including paying bills and planning for your future. It may be stress from managing the complexities of household demands, growing a family and having to make making crucial decisions. It may be stress related to physical or mental illness – either your own or others. Or it may be stress related to anything else in your life.

Regardless of the type, stress can have negative effects on both our physical and mental health and well-being. From supressing our immune system, increasing our weight, making us depressed and significantly shortening our life expectancy. Even people who claim to thrive of a high-pressured and somewhat stressful lifestyle often admit, that there are times when they just need to get away from it all.

And that’s because holidays enable us to break the stress cycle by allowing us to become human-beings, instead of human-doings, once again. This includes not having any commitments/feeling any obligation that you need to be here, or, there trying to do 15 things at once – rushing from one thing to another. Being allows the constant inner chatter, and never ending mental ‘to do’ list to quiet down. Being allows us to shift from constant thinking and living in our head, to being more grounded and centred in our own physical body and surrounds. This is a big deal, especially when you consider that most of the negative stress we experience in life is a result of thinking. So, the more we can simply ‘be’ and connect to the present, the more we destress and recharge our batteries. And the more you do this, the happier you become!

Gain perspective & move forward: Within the rush of life today, it is very easy to lose sight of the big picture, which can often leave us feeling flat. Holidays however, allow us to step back from life and form another perspective outside the bubble of routine and work. Holidays can help us to refocus and reconnect with what is real and of true importance, and enable us to make key decisions that ensure that we keep moving forward with our life.

Boost creativity & solve problems: Think about when you are the most creative – it’s usually when you are doing things like taking a shower, going for a walk, and of course when you are on holidays. In-fact, Einstein walked one and a half miles to Princeton and back each day – a walk he considered precious when it came to finding solutions to some of life’s most challenging questions. Why? Because any time you are not thinking, you’re in alignment with the present moment, which is creation itself. Holidays can boost creativity, and help us to find solutions to our problems.

Helps you to grow as a person: Holidays, and in particular traveling abroad meeting different people, learning a new language, experiencing different cultures and seeing different scenery, all help to broaden your knowledge base, and can help you to grow and better yourself as a person. In this way, travelling is so much more than enjoyment – it’s an investment in self-development. The more you travel, the more worldly you become.

Pull you out of a rut: Whilst routine is important for adding structure and organisation, too much of it can feel like ground-hog day, and before you know it, you’ve gotten yourself into a rut. Especially if you haven’t been on a holiday in a long time – you get stuck on auto pilot and become stale. We know that “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” So what better way to escape the work routine than with a holiday? Even a short holiday can be enough to give you back your mojo and begin enjoying life again.

Bring family and friends together: What is life really about? More so than anything else, it’s about sharing good times and creating positive memories with family and friends. Just think of some of your best memories – I bet some involve being on holidays. But in today’s culture of speed, the little time that we do get to spend with family and friends feels rushed between the daily grind of school, work and everything else. Holidays provide an opportunity to spend quality time with family and friends, without the commitments/obligations. This enables you to really be present, and enjoy your time more fully with those whom you love the most. This contributes positively to family bonding, communication and solidarity.

Rejuvenate your body: Whether its sitting or standing in the same spot for prolonged periods using a computer, or whether it’s being on the tools doing hard physical labour, what we do each day can and does have an impact on our body. In-fact, most of us carry some level of tension in our body – some of us carry it through our shoulders, neck and chest, some in the lower back, hips or wherever else. Most of the time we are not even aware of how much tension we carry, because we have lived with it for so long, that we think it’s normal. However, like all good athletes, sometimes we just need to stop and rest. A holiday forces us to stop and give our bodies much needed rest and recovery. The more replenished and healthier you become, the easier everything in life becomes.

Tips towards planning a holiday:

So now that you know why going on a holiday is so important, if you would like to learn my top tips towards planning holidays to ensure that you get away, then join my 3 keys holistic health and fitness program at www.h360.online

May 23, 2019 0 comment
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RECENT POSTSWHAT YOU DO

Stay Social

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There are many things we should be doing if we want to live happier, healthier, fitter lives. But the one which is the greatest predictor of health and longevity is staying social. Staying social means;

*Having good relationships in your life – these are relationships with people whom you can count on when the going gets tough. People who you can trust to take you to the doctor if you are sick, or who can just sit with you if you’re in despair. It’s a biological imperative to know we belong and at least three stable relationships is what the research says you need here.

*Having daily social interaction – This means how much you interact with people as you go through your day. This includes not just the people you’re really close to, but also everyone else you talk to. Do you talk to the person who made your coffee, with the postman, with your neighbor? All of these different interactions are an important part of staying social.

Why staying social is important:

*It’s good for your Body:

Research shows that loneliness shortens your life as much as being a regular smoker or alcoholic. If you’re a women with breast cancer, then you are four times more likely to survive if you are not a loner. And did you know that the level of satisfaction you have with your relationships is a better predictor of physical health than your cholesterol level? Your also much more likely to suffer from a heart attack because loneliness weakens the left ventricle of your heart – your really can die of a broken heart. Staying social is not only restorative for your heart, but also bolsters your entire immune system and will literally help to save your life. Women are often much better at staying social than men, and this is a contributing factor to why women in the developed world live an average of six to eight years longer.

*It’s good for your Mind:

Good relationships don’t just protect our body; they protect our brain. Staying social sends feel-good hormones surging through the bloodstream and brain, eliminating much of the emotional and physical pain you would normally experience if you weren’t as social. It leads to less mental deterioration as you age, including better memory functions and less chance of developing dementia. It’s also an important part of overcoming all addictions.

One of the biggest causes of mental health issues is stress – and today more people are feeling stressed out than ever before. One of the most simple ways to reduce stress is by staying social. It doesn’t matter who it is – your friends, work colleagues, your therapist or so on. Having someone to talk to helps to lighten the load and has been shown to significantly reduce stress levels and increase your overall well-being.

*It’s good for your Spirit:

It’s often said that the quality of your life is in direct proportion to the quality of your relationships, and I couldn’t agree with this more. Everything is better in life and more fun when you have people to share it with- laughter is the pathway to the soul. We all need each other, because if we don’t then we miss out on the greatest things life has to offer – the sharing and receiving of love, encouragement and support from family and friends. Sure, things like having a nice house, car or going on nice holidays can all boost your happiness in the short term, however it’s having great relationships and regular engagement that makes you happy over the long term. At the end of the day, all you really have and all that you can leave behind in this journey we call life, is the people you have met and touched along the way. Staying social is vital to the wellbeing of your spirit – the core essence of who you are.

How social are we?

Despite the enormous benefits of staying social, almost around 50 percent of people living in westernised nations suffer from loneliness. They often feel alone and have no one to talk to, and even more feel as if no one knows them well. It’s hard to believe this is the case given that we live in a world in which we are more connected than ever before.

Barriers to staying social:

The Internet and social media – Studies show that the average person is spending up to 11 hours a day on the internet with much of it being spent on ‘social’ media. However, there is a big difference between interacting on social media as opposed to in person. It’s really important to point this out because it often passes under our conscious radar, which is why we relate online activity with the real thing. Basically, face-to-face contact which includes making eye contact with somebody, shaking hands, giving somebody a high-five is enough to release oxytocin, which increases your level of trust and lowers your cortisol levels, therefore lowering stress. And dopamine is generated, which gives us a little high and it kills pain. It’s like a naturally produced morphine. In-fact, face-to-face engagement releases a whole cascade of neurotransmitters, and like a vaccine, they protect you now in the present and well into the future. Face-to-face interaction also increases your social intelligence and creates a biological force field against disease and decline.

Being too busy – We all live increasingly busy lives these days and it really can be difficult to catch-up with family/friends. Obviously different life stages also affect this, with some stages providing less time for social engagement than others.

Other – Mental health issues either diagnosed or un-diagnosed, fear of putting yourself out there, social awkwardness, poor self-esteem, grief, estrangement of family and friends due to conflict, divorce, substance abuse and so forth. And even more recently – Carona virus. All of these things can and often become barriers to staying social.

If you would like to know how to be more social – not only in the real world, but also become socially engaged with hundreds of others looking to live happier, healthier, fitter lives, then join my 3 keys holistic health and fitness program at www.h360.online

May 19, 2018 0 comment
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