For Your Lungs Only
del.icio.usRyan Paugh over at Employee Evolution just posted a blog regarding his personal experience with dealing with anxiety at work. While I don't have that issue personally (I've been told I am calm to a fault), it brings up an interesting point, and something I've been struggling with lately. How do you relax?
It used to be easy for me. I smoked a cigarette. I began smoking when I was 10 years old, and quit when I was 25. Minus the 2 weeks preceeding my wedding, I haven't smoked a cigarette since. Any for those who want to know how I did it, it's simple. I stopped. Period. No extra effort other than that. But I digress.
There is one thing I miss about smoking, however. It was the forced 'break' that I took when I would slip outside and light up. Living in Florida, there weren't many times that it was too cold outside, so for most of the year, going outside for a smoke was a pleasant experience. Not only that, it MADE me stop what I was doing, actually get up and change my surroundings, and sometimes even socialize. Now mind you, I am not saying that smoking is good. It's bad. Bad bad bad bad bad.
But I haven't been able to mimick that experience, completely, since I quit. I smoke cigars, which is relaxing, but having a cigar is much more of a drawn out, social affair. There isn't the 5 minute mini-break that came with a cigarette. And while I can certainly take a 5 or 10 minute break whenever I'd like, it just isn't the same.
My wife is another story. She doesn't really have the ability to relax at all. She just doesn't seem to be wired that way. It's been something she's dealt with her entire life, and something we've dealt with as a couple since the early days of our relationship. Granted, it's one of the things that makes us 'work', as I am usually able to help her slow down and relax. Sometimes.
But I am still looking for that forced mini-break, the one that really clears my mind and gives me a reset. Any ideas?
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