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A post shared by Elephant Journal (@elephantjournal) on Sep 8, 2019 at 4:00am PDT

Just “take it easy.”

It’s a phrase that many people say, however, only a few understand the true essence of it.

There was a time in my life when doing what I love to do the most proved to be a burden for me. That’s when I learned a valuable lesson: even your passion can prove to be a burden if it’s overdone.

I started working for hours and hours, and ended up losing track of time, making myself unhealthy, and gaining a considerable amount of weight. Of course, none of these things are good for us, which is why we need to learn to “take it easy.”

While struggling with these issues, I understood that I needed to do something to make my life better. It was all bearable, until one day I felt like giving up. It was a hard time for me as I never thought that following my dreams with such dedication would harm me. But it did, and I knew I had to change some things in my life.

I knew it wouldn’t be an easy journey, but I did it.

I created a proper routine for myself and made a habit of doing things other than work. I created time for myself to have a little bit of fun. Instead of just paying attention to my work, I managed to take out some time to take care of my physical and mental health. I did this because our bodies are the only things that will stay with us for the rest of our lives, and nothing or no one can replace them.

Paying attention to yourself is the first step in mastering the art of “taking it easy.” Remember the things that make you feel happy and take out time from your busy life to do those things. Make time for your hobbies, and if you don’t have any, develop some—even if it’s watching a television show, playing video games, or swimming. The important thing is having time to rejuvenate and get back to work with a fresh and open mind.

Here are some things that helped me master the art of “taking it easy”:

Keep your Priorities Clear

Work is not the only important thing in life. Your friends and family—basically, your support system and social life—should also be important, so don’t put anything in the world before that. Having a fulfilling social life is the key to living with a positive mindset. Make sure that the people you care about—yourself included—are at the top of your priority list.

Learn How to Forgive Yourself

If you are reading this, it means you already have a busy and stressful life. Stress can be harmful for both our mental and physical health, but if you keep feeling guilty about the mistakes you’ve made, you’ll end up even more stressed. So, before going any further, you must learn to reflect on your mistakes—then forgive yourself before seeking forgiveness from others, or even God.

Acceptance is the Key

The way you are is perfect. Sure, improvement is important, however, overworking is not the way to make yourself better at something. In most cases (including mine), overworking harms your overall performance as you don’t give yourself the time to recover, rest, and have fun. One of the most important pieces of living with a positive mindset is realizing and accepting the person you are. Never doubt your capabilities and you’ll be able to live the life that you want to. 

Take Breaks

Trust me, your work will still be there for you after. Give yourself the time to recover by taking a few days off or going on a vacation. Instead of stressing about the huge amount of work to be done, take it one step at a time. The most important thing in your life is your health, so take good care of yourself.

Spend Money on Yourself

We all have things we’ve dreamt of buying or having since childhood. Maybe those dreams stuck around through college and we began to plan what we would buy when we got older and had money of our own. But when we are actually making enough to buy that thing, we end up saving that money thinking that we’ll spend it on something better in the future. But sometimes it’s better to go ahead and treat ourselves—if it works with our finances. Always saving for someday can result in even more stress. 

Stress impacts our physical and mental health, so focus on doing what you love and living the life you’ve always wanted to live.

And make time to “take it easy.” Life is too short to spend it stressed out.

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