Monday, February 11, 2013

Stop. Take a breath.

It's only the second month of the year, but it feels like three or four have gone by already. From the 1st of January I started at a new position at work, but I still combine it with the work at the previous department. So in January especially there were days when I didn't even have time to think, I just had to do things. Had to go there, run here, talk to this person, send an e-mail to that one. It was as one long day. And also all my weekends were planned - yesterday was actually the first weekend since New Year that I got to spend at home.
And please do not think that I am complaining, I actually did like it. I was enjoying having a lot of things to do. I felt that my days mattered. The only thing is that I missed some personal time, time to sit and reflect on the day. To think of what I learnt that day. And I actually started meditating again. Just for a little bit befoe going to sleep. I had so many thoughts like "tomorrow I should do this and that", or "I shouldn't forget to mention this in the project" - I couldn't stop thinking of work even when going to bed. And that was when I desperately felt the need to stop. Just for 5 minutes. To clear the mind. To breathe deeply and calmly. We all need that. We are not some electronic devices where hit 'play' and it just start running. But even the devices need time to recharge. So do we.
And the advice of the day is: even in your busiest day, take 5 minutes or 5 seconds to stop. Take a deep breath, smile, relax and keep on going.

Monday, February 4, 2013

Say YES

You know a lot of articles out there are written on how to say "no" to other people, but my problem is being able to say "yes". Just yesterday as I was walking to a movie theater early in the morning, I ran into a handsome young man. We looked at each other for a short second and kept walking our own ways. But then he turned and said "Can I walk you to wherever you are going?" And I said no, which I do really regret. It has been my dream and desire to find the soulmate, but it is a real problem for me to actually say yes to the new people that I meet, to say yes to all these opportunities of meeting the guy. I mean it is not the first time that I have said no to a proposal like this. Which means that I could have missed out on the soulmate. And that scares me, to be honest. I have the opportunity, but I say no to it. So one of my goals for this year is to learn to say yes. In this sense I absolutely love the movie "Yes Man" ehich shows that as soon as you become open for something new, a lot of opportunities miraculously appear at your door step. But when you think about it, it is not a huge miracle - all the oppotunities have been there before, it is you who were absent, absent by constantly saying no.
So the advice of today is: say YES. Be open to new acquaintances, new possibilities, new opportunities. YES is the one word that can make miracles happen.