How to reclaim your Zen.
Routines for balancing my inner self.
“Wellness seeks more than the absence of illness; it searches for new levels of excellence. Beyond any disease-free neutral point, wellness dedicates its efforts to our total Wellbeing–in body, mind, and spirit.”- Greg Anderson.
Wellbeing is a combination of feeling good, experiencing positive emotions, having control over one’s life, having a sense of purpose, and experiencing positive relationships. Inner Well-being is a state of calm that we achieve when we are in peace and balance with ourselves.
I can relate to this definition of Well-being.
There are many adverse effects of ignoring inner Well-being. Ongoing stress and negative emotions affect both mental and physical health. The National Institute of Mental Health states that persistent stress and negative emotions contribute to high blood pressure, heart diseases, insomnia, and digestive issues impacting the quality of life.
Connecting with self.
We are often so busy that we permanently work on autopilot mode. Right from when we get up to when we retire at night, we go about doing our daily chores on auto-pilot mode.
We never think of stopping for a minute to breathe. This causes stress, anxiety and fatigue, with all energy drained — a perfect recipe for the sleep disorder and constant mood swings.
I have throughout been a person who would always love to be busy. Busyness took over my life. In the busyness, everything else seemed to go off to the wayside. Work and career became a priority and became more critical.
I had a corporate career with global responsibilities, which meant I was working 24/7 and travelling 15 days a month.
It was a rewarding job, but it came at a cost.
I needed to maintain a balanced life and take care of myself, but I achieved neither.
I continued at this hectic pace for a decade. It came to a stage where I hit the brick wall and could no longer manage the stress. The frenetic pace of life was taking me further and further away from self-care and my inner self.
During this period, I was reading Haemin Sunim’s book, ‘The things you can see only when you slow down’. The book offered practical tips for reclaiming my Zen.
The following verse from the book made the most significant impact on me:
We know the world only through the window of our mind.
When our mind is noisy, the world is as well.
And when our mind is peaceful, the world is, too.
Knowing our minds is just as important as trying to change the world.
Though I was at the peak of my career, I slowed down. After much reflection, I started my management consulting practice and became my own boss.
I slowed down and spent time reflecting on what I needed to do differently to get some balance in my life. I needed an outlet for all the pent-up frustrations so that there was some diversity in life and some relaxation.
My biggest challenge was to quieten my mind. When the mind is quiet, you can also be calm.
Balancing Inner self
“Wellness, I came to realize, will not happen by accident. It must be a daily practice, especially for those of us who are more susceptible to the oppressiveness of the world.”-Jenna Wortham.
I had to work on myself to keep my sanity intact and maintain inner peace. Finding inner peace in a chaotic world is challenging.
Here are a few things I did to balance my inner self and develop a healthier body, mind, and soul.
- Spending time in nature.
I brought nature into my house. While taking a walk in the park allowed me to breathe fresh air, I created a small garden on my balcony. Spending time nurturing plants and watering them helped me to feel more relaxed from the stresses of daily life.
2. I introduced yoga practice into my morning routine.
It helped me improve and keep my brain active. It was good for my physical health, and I saw my asthma was completely controlled.
3. I adopted the 80/20 rule in my consulting practice.
I applied the 80/20 rule to improve all odds of having a better lifestyle and decided not to work with out-of-town clients. Initially, this was not possible, but slowly, as I started signing up for new clients, I had a choice and could follow my rule. This offered me more freedom and flexibility.
4. I started investing time in building relationships.
I started connecting with friends and spending time with family and volunteering at a community group. Because of my busy schedule, I never had the time to invest in building relationships or spending quality time with my family. Connecting with friends and family helped me improve my social well-being.
Thank you Jason Edmunds for this wonderful January 2023 monthly theme prompt.
