Maria Gonzalez Blog
Mindful Leadership

Gaining the Greatest Benefit from Summer

We all look forward to summer –  the sunshine, the warm weather and the opportunity to relax.  But, unless we are very deliberate about the relaxation and regeneration, we may find that summer flies by and we are suddenly into the frenetic pace of September.  One of the issues is that we try to cram too much into a short period of time.  When we do this, we push away time for relaxation.

And when we don’t take the time to relax, one of the casualties is time for reflection.  Essentially, we drive away time to “do nothing”.  It may seem wasteful to “do nothing”.  But, nothing could be further from the truth.  It is when we take time to do nothing that we regenerate, creative ideas flow, and we feel more at peace.

Our drive to accomplish every moment of the day may actually wear us down.  So, by slowing down, we can become more productive when we are back doing what we need to do.

So this summer, you may wish to take time to smell the roses or the coffee.  You may wish to look up at the clouds and do what you might have done as a child…just contemplate the shape of the clouds and watch them move by.  You may wish to listen to the birds.  And you may find great peace in being still.