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Stress Management by Sharpening Your Ax Part II – Solitude
By Marsha Lindquist
Solitude. It sounds quiet doesn’t it? No interruptions. Again, just like vacations, your mental alert buttons are transformed. Your physical body chemistry is altered.
When you neglect time off or try to minimize it, your ax gets dull. You hack away at life. That’s a disservice to yourself, your employer, your clients and your family.
It’s simple. You’ll be more productive when you take the time to sharpen your tools—your brain, body and spirit. Then you can go back to work, be more dynamic, and look forward to chopping your way through. Here are my strategies and ways of sharpening my ax – solitude style.
Solitude is privacy and seclusion – time unaccompanied. What is the visual that these words conjure up for you? Mine looks like the scenery at my cabin - mountains on two sides, trees all around, a river running through it. The air is crisp and there’s a glass of iced tea by my chair. I’ve learned to be a good companion to myself over the years. While I used to run at top speed and find little time for just me, I now treasure the time that I have alone. Let me be clear about this alone time – it’s really alone with no one else you know occupying your space. Women especially are fabulous at building relationships with others but not with themselves.
Solitude is different from vacation. Solitude is those moments or hours that you can have just to yourself. Grab them whenever you can or plan them into your schedule. They are little gifts. Take a long bath or cook a special meal and serve it on good china and crystal in the dining room under candlelight. Sometimes I make a date with myself, get dressed up and go out on the town. Play music, dance to it, read a book, listen to what silence sounds like, see a movie, have dinner out – all alone. The important elements are to carry it out regularly and to respect the time. If you do, others will as well.
You know that you’ve had a great solitude interlude when you are looking forward to return to work. It means your batteries are recharged. Make solitude a regular part of your weekly routine and find those things that can be part of your habits.
While vacations are a fine art, I find that waiting for them sometimes can be frustrating. Solitude, however, can be practiced with reliability. It can become an exceptional event to be planned, anticipated, enjoyed, and reminisced about.
About the Author
Marsha Lindquist, a business strategist for over 15 years, draws on her proven “down in the trenches” experience, creativity, and participative manner to provide real solutions to businesses to assist them in building and growing their businesses. She is an energetic presenter and is also the Chief Executive Officer of The Management Link, Inc. As well as being the author of “Why Are You Still Working Your A** Off?”, she has written and published several professional journal articles on business strategy and negotiations. She can be reached by E-mail at marsha@marshalindquist.com
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