Friday, May 01st 2009

Do You Overschedule Yourself?

While away here at Canyon Ranch, I'm learning so much about myself and about all of us, really. It's given me time for some practical, hands-on learning; like an interesting lecture I attended yesterday on heart health, called "Straight From the Heart." (Scary fact: Every 70 seconds in the U.S. someone dies of a heart attack.)

But my stay here has also given me time to reflect inward and discover things that have I've been too busy or too distracted to pay much attention to...

In my enthusiasm for life or sometimes in my sheer necessity to get everything done, I end up over-scheduling myself. I'm sure you can all relate. This even happened here. Yesterday, I felt the stress. (Okay, don't hate me and say "WHAT"? Stressed? On vacation?")

Let me explain. I felt so overwhelmed when I found myself rushing from appointment to appointment. In my quest not to miss out on anything, I filled in every single minute of the day with workshops, lectures, exercise classes, hikes, you name it.

Deep breath...

So today I cancelled almost everything, ordered a New York Times from the front desk and made the commitment that I'd create some down time to just relax.

Although this place is all about learning, it's not just learning how to avoid heart disease, or how to learn yoga or play a better game of tennis. It's also about learning what makes you happy - what you, as an individual need to stay physically and mentally healthy. And if that means taking some time out of your over-scheduled day to do something that feels right and will give you joy, then don't we all have to listen to that important message?

How do you balance your life? It can be quite a challenge, can't it?

Here's my thought for the day: Be like the mayor of your town and cut out all non-essential services!

Your body and mind (and loved ones) will understand. They may even thank you.