“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect”

Mark Twain

Since arriving home in late April, it has been non-stop. Playing golf tournaments, traveling more than 7,000 miles in the car, travelling to Eastern Europe and launching a company all take their toll on the body and mind. Would I change any of it? Absolutely not. I enjoy every minute of it, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t tire me out in a physical and psychological. Slowly but surely I have felt myself getting more and more worn out and slightly stressed as I fight the uphill battle of to-do’s.

It is true that sometimes, (quite often in my case) you must take the time to press the reset button. Taking the time to pause and reflect is one of the most valuable assets you may have and it can go a long way to being better, longer. Taking a time-out will seem of weakness to some people, but it is the complete opposite. Knowing what you are capable of doing and having the self-awareness to know when too much is too much is an asset that will stand to you. Many people, usually the highly driven ones, will do too much for too long before having a dramatic collapse, much like I did in the latter part of 2015. (I will write about this in a later blog post). To refrain from being like me, I advise taking some time to yourself as often as you can.

The question, which you are probably asking yourself now, is how often and for how long should I do this? Well… that’s up to you. Taking vacations or extended periods of absence from work, or even the outside world are great ways to recuperate. However, I think there is a better, more sustainable option, that can take less than 10 minutes per day and it is what I call, “The Psychological Release Valve”. Thanks to Tim Ferriss for gracing me with this beautiful phrase. The “Psychological Release Valve” (aka, journaling), is a great way to release tension and get your thoughts on paper while also allowing you to plan for the future and remain totally present.

Below, I have shared my latest Journal. In this journal “Mitigating Stress” I talk to myself about why I made the decision I made to take a day off and to pause and reflect. I use the Morning Pages Journal along with 3-4 other journals, but this one is solely for reflection, planning and well… writing morning pages.

Incase you can’t read my sloppy handwriting, here’s the text version of my Journal. I hope it helps.

Shannon, Ireland June 8th 2016

Mitigating Stress! A quality that is acquired through work, understanding and taking time off.

Today I am taking a day off to do a number of things.

Rest and Recover.

Get organized for the coming weeks.

Prevent burnout/stress. (I feel stress building because of a lack of time to pause and reflect.)

Refrain from thinking about the future.

Slowly but surely I can feel myself getting burned out. I am enjoying the process so much, it’s hard to slow down. But, the question remains, “how fast can you drive your car before you lose control?” I feel life speeding up and beginning to get away from me, so I use today to re-focus and re-align myself.

Happiness is not to be found in circumstance. Happiness is to be found inside and projected out.

Good decision today!

If you would like to see more of my journals, perhaps the more insightful ones please don’t hesitate to contact us. A journal is a great way to note progress, take time to pause and reflect and get your thoughts onto paper. It is also a great way to allow you to reflect on situations, which you have previously encountered so you can deviate from those situations again. Hence why I wrote this journal.

Thank you,

UYP Team