5 Tips on How to Relax & Feel Calmer
For some people, it’s easy to relax.
Their life is just one big relaxation.
- Chilling.
- Dragging their feet.
- Not moving with any urgency.
For others, learning to relax is going to require work.
Their mind is always running.
And they need to learn how to slow down.
Complex systems need time to relax.
‘Huh?’
A computer for example isn’t always able to run.
It needs some downtime after a while.
Likewise, it’s the same with a human.
They need some downtime as well.
I have a few tips on how to relax.
Take whichever tips work and discard which don’t.
Before I give you the tips, I need to explain why relaxation is tough for some.
Why Some People Find It Difficult to Relax
‘Why is it easy for some to relax while others find it difficult?’
It’s because of different fundamental beliefs.
The group who finds it difficult to relax often works a lot.
Their work is either productive or destructive.
Destructive work is when you’re moving a lot, but not empowering anyone for the best.
Not even yourself.
- Overthinking, worrying, complaining to others.
This is technically work, just not the good kind.
The other kind of workers are doing work that benefits others.
- They have a business.
- An important role at their job.
- Serve as a leader in their family etc.
For this latter group, the reason they find it difficult to relax is because of guilt.
They associate some form of guilt with relaxing.
They feel like they are wasting time.
Tip 1: Articulate the Importance of Relaxation
It’s one thing when some random guy on the internet tells you to relax.
It’s a whole different ball game when you are capable of articulating the importance of relaxation for yourself!
Why do you think you should relax?
‘Uh…because it’s good for me?’
That’s vague. See if you can get more specific.
Leverage logic.
Assume that your future self has understood the value of relaxing.
But your present self is still not sold.
Somehow, your future self was able to teleport to the present to logically explain why you should begin relaxing.
What would your future self say?
Even though this seems silly, when we intellectually grasp a concept, we are much more likely to implement it.
Tip 2: Find Relaxation Activities that Don’t Make you feel Guilty
One reason that a lot of people find it difficult to relax is because their activity of choice makes them feel guilty the next morning.
They feel disgusted.
Then they associate the disgusted feeling with the entire act of relaxing.
Are there any activities that allow you to feel good and relax?
So, you don’t feel guilty the next morning?
This isn’t to say that you only implement productivity into your life.
Only being productive is a fast way to ensure you’re not productive.
Trying to be too perfect causes self-implosion.
Just brainstorm to see if there are any acts that you can do which are not only good for you but allow you to unwind as well.
- Journaling, reading a fiction book, playing basketball, etc.
These tasks work out our creativity or physique.
Let’s say you don’t have something like that.
See if you can tone down the activity that has you feeling guilty in the morning.
Rather than cutting it off cold turkey, moderation is the way.
Tip 3: Setting Time to Relax
If you don’t say:
‘At this time, I’m relaxing.’
Then chances are you’ll feel guilty when you do relax.
The narrative will be:
‘Man, I should be doing something! Why am I just sitting on my ass for?’
This is why setting a relaxation interval is the way to go.
It doesn’t have to be super precise or anything.
It can be something like:
‘After the sun goes down, I’m going to be chilling.’
If you want specificity, you can go for that too.
The main point is setting a time interval for relaxation.
This allows for unwinding to be much easier.
Tip 4: Earn your Relaxation
One of the best ways to disconnect the feeling of ‘guilt’ with ‘relaxation’ is to earn your relaxation.
‘What do you mean?’
I mean exactly what I said.
Earn your relaxation!
When you are in the productive periods, go hard.
Do what you gotta’ do
Then when the productivity zone is winding down, that’s when you can be like:
‘Damn, I really earned that chill session.’
This does 2 things:
- You go hard during the productive zone.
- You cultivate an empowering attitude towards relaxation.
To make sure you go extra hard during your working zone, a to-do list is a gamechanger.
It’s so simple & gives you direction for the day.
You can check out Check List, which is a to-do journal to keep your day productive.
Tip 5: Switch it Up
The final tip is to switch it up.
If you have a routine that works for you, then stick with it.
But if for some reason, what was once relaxing is now a chore, that means the body is craving some variety.
Experiment with other activities.
You can even ask others to see how they relax.
People love talking about themselves.
When you ask, they’ll be quick to give some suggestions.
A little bit of variety goes a long way!
Implementing the Tips on How to Relax
These are my tips on how to relax.
Did any of them resonate with you?
If so, great.
If not, then find your own tips.
You ever had that moment where you were productive for a long time.
Then suddenly, you became lazy…
Not just for a few days.
But for a few months??
‘Whoa, I actually did have plenty of moments like that. Why did that happen?’
That was your body treating itself to some relaxation.
So, if you can consciously sprinkle relaxation into your lifestyle then the guilt will fade away.
For more practical insights on how to be productive and level up, be sure to check out:
Level Up Mentality: A Guide to Re-Engineer your Mindset for Confidence!
Currently available in the following formats:
Ebook
Paperback/Kindle
Audiobook
– ArmaniTalks 
