Slow down ... and chill out

I've said this a million times so here's a million and one times - you don't realise how much you need a break until you actually take one.

I've had the pleasure of being on holiday from work this last week and the first weekend of it was spent with a crazy bunch of women at Center Parcs for my niece's hen do.  As you can imagine, it was utter carnage but sooo much fun.  We had a packed agenda of activities, drinking, activities, drinking, erm more drinking!!

Our time in the sub-tropical swimming paradise centre was fabulous fun as we all reverted back to being children again.  We threw ourselves down the wild water rapids, numerous waterslides and screamed with delight when the wave machine was turned on.  There was also 10-pin bowling, laser combat, crazy golf, cycling and the spa - oh the spa, ridiculously good and so relaxing.  I also took my running kit of course and squeezed in two runs!

It was like being in a bubble of fun for four days and it made me realise how few and far these occasions are, when we can completely forget about the outside world and simply giggle about anything and everything.  Yet these times are so important to recharge our batteries.  In our day-to-day lives, there's always something to do and somewhere to go and, even in the evenings and weekends, it's hard to shut off completely.

Realistically though, we can't take ourselves off for days at a time, we have to wait for holidays and let's face it, those have been few and far between in recent times.  So what can we do to build in some chill out moments in our every day lives.  For me, it's about being with people who make me laugh, people who I can be incredibly silly with and giggle about the stupidest of things.  The times when I can shut off from everything, turn off the news and stop checking social media.

Downtime will be different for everyone so it's about finding out what works for you and building that into your everyday life.  When we're constantly being bombarded with social media and such like, it's very easy to lose the 'real' you.  There's been times in the past when I've reflected back and thought 'why did I do that / buy that / say that', because that's not the real me.  To understand what you really feel and think about things, you have to step away from the 'false' world and find the true, authentic YOU again.

It's not easy being YOU when we're constantly surrounded by external influences, which is why most people find it incredibly difficult to completely chill out.  We crave the addiction to constant stimulation, it's like a drug and when it's taken away from us, we're often disappointed with what's left behind.  This is why it's so important to have regular breaks, to keep grounded and in touch with the REAL you.

Last weekend I got my energy and stimulation from friends, family and the simple things in life, like throwing myself down a giant waterslide!!  I spent my time in trainers or flip flops, hair tied back and no make-up as did everyone else.  Horrible things are happening in the world right now but it was liberating to step away from the news and social media for a short time.  It also made me realise how privileged I am to be able to do that.  Many people in the world can't do that so let's treasure these precious moments and be thankful that we can have times like this.

Don't just wait for holidays though, on a daily basis make sure you:

• Laugh out loud
• Tell someone how much you appreciate them
• Read something inspiring
• Resist the urge to click on your notifications the minute they appear
• Spend some time on your own to simply reflect and recharge
• Turn off the news - someone else will tell you what's happening anyway!!
• Don't let external influences control your life ... IT'S OK TO BE YOU!!

#2021