"A diamond is just a piece of charcoal that handled stress exceptionally well."
Shine like a diamond i have heard this many times. and often wondered how can i shine like a diamond. The underlying message somehow eluded from me for a long time. Every time some one said this phrase to me, i felt this meant i had to look my best , excel in my studies , sports and work etc. I realised much later in life that how we have this ability to cope with stress and come out stronger and more positive about our life is what this old saying actually meant.
I never realised i was a good conductor of stress until i got in events. Its easy to say "i am stressed". But its difficult to be in stress and work effectively. Initially when i started work i was always short of time, work never finished. Before i could finish one event, another was already in pipeline and at times i realised i was coordinating 4 events in different locations of this country in a day. My stress levels were high and i don't remember Shinning like a diamond in those days.
After much thought i realised where i was going wrong. I had programmed my mind by constantly saying to myself and to anyone i met "I am stressed" , "I don't have any time for myself", "I am very busy". I suddenly realised saying these sentences made me feel important and busy with my work. But in reality my mind was getting signals of being stressed and finding no time for myself. My productivity level as per my understanding was low even though i was working and delivering my targets. Hence the change came in my perspective and as i said earlier probably i am a good conductor of stress, once i made up my mind of accepting the impact of being in events , i suddenly was less stressed and had time for both my work and personal life. This change in my mindset has helped me for two decades and if today i conduct workshops for people to realise their trigger points of stress is all thanks to the Time out my mind takes which has changed my perspective.
Modern lifestyle, we love the attention and constant influx of calls and messages. Social media is at its all time high. Our lifestyle now has too much of digital influx which keeps us on our toes always. This ping sound resonates in our mind constantly and candy crush the best time pass game invented. This is what eases our stress from work and attention disorder has hit roof high.
For me personally, i prefer to take Time out for my mind. Today i find vacation places where i have no mobile / data connectivity. One hour a day i put my phone on silent so that i can be with my thoughts and plan my day and week accordingly. This disciplined Time out is for me to rejuvenate and think creatively at my next project. At meetings i ensure my mobile is on silent mode and not kept on the table to divert my mind from discussions. While meeting family and friends again i keep my mobile away as i would prefer to give all my attention to the person in front of me than the virtual ping which diverts my attention My mind needs rest just like my body. I could not write a blog for a month as no thoughts came in and too much of travel, social and work took toll on my creative thinking. This happens to all of us but in the rat race to be somewhere we let go of fatigue signs which our mind gives us.
For some playing an instrument, cooking, shopping, sports etc are few ways to take Time out from digital influx. Somehow we have not grasped that if "I don't take this call or reply to the message will not make me irresponsible . I too, do have a right to have some family and me time in this busy world. " Stress is no one's friend and our body in many forms gives us a notion to stop and take some time out but we in our busy little world wearing blinkers don't want to understand the telltale signs.
We all can devise our own time out methods, provided for this brief period we are not on any digital medium.
There are some breathing exercises which can instantly bring our mind to calm down and before we know we are in this space where Time holds still for some and we can rejuvenate. I once again reiterate "Still your mind" meditation does have a very positive impact on our thinking and to rejuvenate our tiring mind.
For me personally "Time Out" is the new Mantra in this ever evolving busy life to Shine like a Diamond in the Sky.
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