The Importance of Mental Breaks!
Do you ever have those days where you are completely worn out that by the time you hit the bed, it feels like your head won’t stop spinning? I’ve had days where I’ve been GO, GO, GO that when I finally do lay down, it feels like my body is buzzing. That’s maximum stress, y’all!
The crazy thing is, that I’m not alone. It’s more common for our generation to get so much done and claim that there aren’t enough hours in the day. While most of us don’t have the option to say “screw it” and just leave everything behind and lock ourselves away from the world, I think it’s important to take steps back throughout the day to get our minds in check.
This has really been on my heart lately because I’m going through a season of life where there is A LOT that I cannot control. This usually sends my mind in a million different directions and I start panicking and I break out in hives. After speaking with a few of my mentors, I realized that my mind has all the power. If I stop, get my thoughts aligned to what’s really happening, then I can take a chill pill and go on with my day.
People say that endurance sports are all mental. I’m a FIRM believer in that because once I trained my mind to go to the “pain cave” and just let my legs fly, I started performing better in my training. The only way you can grow your mental endurance is by tapping in to it when necessary and not letting your mind go crazy over the little things.
The way I was finally able to get to that place is by taking mental breaks throughout the day. When I feel panic rising, I stop and close my eyes. I take a few deep breaths and still my mind. Just by taking these few seconds to get my mind back on track, I am able to reign in the crazy and tap into that energy whenever I need to.
It takes practice but if you incorporate little mental breaks to really check into what you’re feeling then you’ll be much more intentional with your energy. While this won’t get rid of every stressful situation you encounter, it will help reduce the amount of stress you carry with you. Hopefully, with enough practice you find out that certain things don’t bother you any more!
Do you take mental breaks? What’s one thing you like to do to give yourself a break?
