Take a break

I feel that I am very fortunate as I have a very good friend who is called Ian.

I have known Ian for most of my life and am able to talk to him about any problems that I have. He is a good listener and always seems to come up with some positive advice.

Ian is very much aware of the fact that I basically stress far too much and has tried to install a more care-free attitude into my personality.

For whatever reason, I have been unable to implement this form of attitude and have continued to worry to the extent where I have even suffered from panic attacks.

During a recent evening out, I was as usual complaining about this or that in my normal negative way.

Ian listened carefully as I explained my latest fears and worries and then came back with some considered advice.

He suggested that there was possibly not enough fun in my life and that a weekend break could be exactly what I needed.

A bit of sun and a few beers could do me a power of good, he explained. It could be a way of taking my mind off all of the demons in my head and a chance to let my hair down etc.

Looking back, I have actually started to feel sorry for Ian and am surprised that he has not had enough of my moaning ways.

I thought about what Ian had said and believed that it was a good idea. It was certainly worth a go in any case.

I asked Ian if he would like to join me on this break, to which he agreed. A sucker for punishment or what!

We decided to go to Devon which is situated on the South-West coast of England.

This is an area that I love; it is such a relaxed place to be, especially compared to the busy city where I live.

It was a superb weekend and I made sure that I did not stress or even think about anything from back home.

This was very hard to carry off but was essential, not only for me but also for Ian.

We had probably more alcohol than what many people would recommend and ate some great food.

The weather was superb which helped in the recovery from the previous nights abuses.

 I even thought about possibly moving to Devon in the future as this could help me to become more relaxed.

At the moment, for many different reasons, this is out of the question.

If you are constantly under pressure or in a stressed out state, I would advice a similar course of action.

Give yourself a break to have some fun and to give your body a chance to de-stress.

Inner peace

I have no doubt that there are many people out there who are searching for ways of improving their overall quality of life.

We have no divine right to be happy of course but on the other hand we should not just sit back and accept second best.

I am the type of person who basically just wants to be happy, I have no desire to become mega rich, but what I am looking for, and at the moment have achieved, is an inner peace.

When looking into ways and ideas of improving my life, I ask myself a series of questions:

What areas of my life am I not happy with?

What can I do to improve my life?

Am I happy with my current role of employment?

Am I happy with my current financial situation?

Am I happy in the relationship that I have with my girlfriend?

How could my life become easier and more stress-free?

These are just a few of many questions that I ask myself and I have listed them purely as an example.

In the past, I would always become quite stressed at around the start of the year.

This was because I have a son who has a birthday in November, then of course in December is the celebration of Christmas.

These two events would leave me with a bit of a financial headache as I have to admit that I tend to spoil my family and go a bit overboard on the spending.

I did not want to reduce the amount that I spent on their presents or on the social aspect of Christmas, or my sons birthday and instead started to look for a solution to this financial stress which as previously stated would occur in January.

What I eventually decided that I would do, which now seems just like common sense, was to save as much as I could every month.

I would have a certain figure in mind that I wanted to save, as I was aware that I needed to live and have some fun throughout the year as well.

By the time November came around on the next year, I had rather a nice amount of money in the bank, which basically made both events even more enjoyable than in previous years.

This was because I had an inner peace of mind. When January came around I was fine as I had no debts or financial worries.

This form of saving is something that I now do every year.

With each and every question that I ask myself, I always attempt to find a solution similar to the way that I did in the above example.

If my girlfriend is annoying me for whatever reason, I try and talk to her. I tell her what the issues are and also ask if there is anything that I am doing that annoys her. This is done in a very light hearted manner, so as to not cause more damage.

I have now reached a stage of my life where I am quite content with what I have. I am able to sleep soundly at night and am very much looking forward to the future.

I have achieved an inner peace and now just have to work hard to make it stay that way.

Life at times is a battle and the negative part of my brain tries hard to ruin me.

I am determined to stay strong and focused to ensure that I ignore this negative voice and that I continue to listen to the positive side of my brain.

If you are one of these people who are not happy or content with your life at the moment, I am sure that by asking yourself a series of questions and then trying to find your own solutions, that you will also be able to find your own inner peace.

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