Today we are going to start with a few quotes, by one of EMS Fitness’s favourite Spanish poets. It’s about the way you engage with life, yourself and your environment, and the author is the amazing Antonio Machado:
If it is good to live, it is better still to dream, and best of all, to wake up.
Pay attention: a lonely heart is not a heart.
Neither the past has died nor tomorrow is here, nor is written yesterday.
Compassion does not mean toleration of ruin, or resign to the inept but to have good will.
Today is always still.
All that is ignored, is despised.
To dialogue, ask first; then listen.
Walker, there is no path, the path is made by walking.
The concepts are everyone’s and are imposed from outside; intuitions are always ours.
The eye that you see is not an eye because you see it, it is an eye because it sees you.
Slowly and carefully, as doing things well is more important than just doing them.
The opposite of connection and engagement with life, is the so called busy life syndrome. We can overload our lives with tasks, responsibilities and goals – leaving us with little to no time for ourselves and our emotional needs.
What is Busy Life Syndrome?
Researchers from CPS Research in Scotland coined the term “busy life syndrome” to problems with poor concentration and memory. Sufferers of this syndrome usually lead a busy lifestyle and are bombarded with a continuous stream of information and tasks.
Busy Life Syndrome Leads to Stress
Is this syndrome self-created? Yes. Does that mean it is not distinct from other disorders, such as ADHD or obsessive compulsive disorder – not necessarily. It is possible however many of the techniques that offer release and understanding of self can offer benefits even when other issues are present.
When we spend the day fraught in activity, coupled with a continual stream of content and social media spikes from laptops and smartphones, we are kept in a constantly stimulated state. Over time this can lead to loss of sleep, burnout and drops in motivation. It’s important to find some way of keeping the balance.
And key to this is knowing that you’re the one in control. Taking a moment to see how you’re doing is key. Detachment from the non-stop hustle allows us to check in and see how we’re feeling in the moment. When we use this method of decision making, rather than trying to take on everything that comes our way, we gain clarity and most importantly the ability to drop those tasks and ideas that are not helping us.
Mindfulness and Yoga – Find Balance
Any activity that takes you out of this continual spiked state is going to help you find balance in all areas of your life. Resolving internal conflicts through mindful breathing allows you to let go of anger, frustration and irritation – whilst allowing you to treat your responsibilities in a more managed, resource-centric model. Yoga too can take you into your body, reconnecting you with the moment and helping ground you. All these practices (and others including tai-chi and qi-gong) serve to allow you to observe your internal world and take a break from all that external noise.