Using relaxation exercises to improve your emotional intelligence will also help you be more productive. It's a win win for you and the people you work with. I'm working on a relaxation book as we speak, but it's still a few months away (Summer 2009). Trying to come up with something completely fresh is not an easy task. But that's where the true fun lies, in discovering hidden depths of focus, passion and creativity that I never thought possible.
The only way that I can hold down a full-time job, enjoy a healthy marriage and put so much into this blog is by using relaxation techniques that I've developed over the past two years. Each one is near and dear to my heart because they've helped me break away from worry, fear, and anger to take advantage of my opportunities.
You need to discover new parts of you every single day, otherwise you get comfortable and stop creating. Creativity is our second most important gift. Love is number one.
Creativity is inside all of us, from the young man who can take apart an engine and put it back together to a woman who can take apart an atom and discover a new world. We all have the ability to create. Everyone can draw stick figures and paint a tree. Some may do it better than others, but that's not the point. Creativity is something we all must uncover as we grow older. The best way to do this is through active relaxation. It may sound like an oxymoron, but it isn't.
When we send requests to our subconscious we can learn to unlock the fear that holds us back from these discoveries. Try this one on for size and let me know what you liked and didn't like. Just be honest, so I can learn how to improve this relaxation as much as possible.
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Pick an Object in the Room and Describe Its Beauty
How:
Find anything that intrigues you and describe its beauty. It could be a plant, another person, or your dog.
Focus on:
The little nuances that most others would miss.
Why:
When we move our focus away from our usual routine we open new neural pathways in our brain, which helps us stay creative.
When:
When you are stuck in a room and you need to stop a cyclical thought pattern.
What I liked:
I picked my dog. The different shades in her coat and the shadows that she created entranced me. I liked how the energy within me changed from an intense feeling like a zooming dragonfly to a wispy butterfly, just going with the flow.
Who could use this:
- A teller in a bank waiting for a customer.
- A security guard passing the time.
- A clown sitting down after a long night of performing.
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The great part about this meditation is its ability to make me feel differently each time. Now take 60 seconds to do this meditation. Let us know in the comment section how it makes you feel. Does it help you relax, or do your thoughts get carried away to something else? It may take a little practice, so if you can't focus on one object for 60 seconds just do 20 seconds and build from there.
Other Stress Relief Articles to Calm Yourself in an overstressed day:
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- 7 Tips to Process Your Stress Faster
- How to: Relieve Your Stress With a Three Step Plan
- Feeling Lucky, Punk! Then go ahead, click here.
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Image courtesy of DistortedSmile
Great post, Karl....Anything that can help me break away from worry, fear, and anger is always a good thing. I had tried yoga in the past to help me with relaxing but found it to be stressful (lol) because I am perhaps the most inflexible person in the world! But I like what you said about focusing on the nuances such as the shades in your dog's coat. It's akin to the whole, "...stop and smell the roses..." idea. I'll have to give it a try 🙂
janelle's last blog post..No Blog Left Behind: Think Like a Blogger!
Hi Karl: I really like this idea of focusing on a random object and admiring it's beauty. It helps to remind us that beauty is all around us, if we only stop for a moment and notice it.
Marelisa's last blog post..Success - On Your Own Terms
Hey Janelle, Yoga isn't easy, but I would recommend you giving it another try. As for the focusing on the nuances...it's a great way to relax when you only have a minute or two.
Hey Marelisa, we are so lucky to be living in this time period. The amount of beauty that we have access to is astounding - from the food we eat to the places we can travel.
I like it Karl. I like it because it makes us focus on something (maybe something we wouldn't normally focus on) and really feel it's beauty. I think it helps us to appreciate more of the things around us. And that's a good thing.
Lance's last blog post..Cheerful Wins!
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I liked that article very much! That meditation technique was very useful and i had one of the best relaxation time in a long time!
Thanks!