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The Ladies Room: slow down, enjoy the pleasures of life |
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Thursday, 13 September 2007 |
Women today want it all.
We want the double-shot cappuccino with whipped cream and not gain an ounce; we want the perks of the single life, but the comfort of a boyfriend. We want to have a career that is getting ready to grow, and we want to sip on margaritas starting at 5 o’clock.
Having it all seems impossible, but many girls are forcing it all into a very short time span of 24 hours.
Marie Claire Magazine recently published an article instructing women on how to slow down their lives.
They
spoke to London-based journalist and author of “Praise of Slowness”
Carl Honroe on how the never-ending race against the clock has a toll
on the health and overall well-being of an individual.
Honroe credits part of the reason that people are always on the go to
the readiness of practically anything: shopping, television shows,
movies, iPods and any information you could ever want at the click of a
mouse.
It encourages people to keep going and keep clicking every second they have.
Even when I do finally sit down at the end of the day, I’m somehow
naturally attracted to Facebook or checking my e-mail repeatedly for
two hours.
Not only that, but when it’s time to rest, sometimes that is even a lost cause.
It seems like I can think of everything that I could have and should
have accomplished that day and what needs to be completed tomorrow when
I’m trying to get beauty rest.
Women are under the pressure to do as well as, if not better than, men.
It’s a sexist world out there and while in college, young women may
feel the need to obtain more internships, make better grades, achieve
better accomplishments and have a bulkier resume than their male
counterparts…just to get the job they are dreaming of.
Idle time is perceived as wasted time in our society.
If you are not doing homework, studying for an exam, finishing up club work or cleaning up your apartment, what are you doing?
Thinking about what you are going to do next, that’s what.
Being consumed with obligations constantly may keep your mind from wandering, but it affects your body negatively.
Honroe concludes that poor diets are increasing, tired work effort is
becoming more common and social life becomes very insignificant, if not
nonexistent.
Our bodies are not meant to constantly be moving, working, building, creating or talking.
They need rest. They need downtime. They need a slice of cheery cheesecake once in a blue moon.
Changing the pace of your life can change the way you appreciate it.
If you’re constantly thinking about the days ahead of you, you simply can’t concentrate on what’s on the plate before you.
For a busy, successful and career chasing woman to embrace her hectic
schedule and still find time to unwind, she should change the way she
responds and how she makes decisions.
Just say ‘no’- yes, it’s an honor to be the associate vice-president of
external affairs committee chairperson number one, but it’s not
necessary. If you’re a sassy lady that people admire for her
determination, of course you will be asked to lead; but think about how
much carrots and potatoes you can cram on your plate and still have
room for dessert. Prioritize and be part of things you enjoy.
If you have to schedule, schedule ‘nothing’- If your day planner looks
like a four year old took five different crayons and went to town, then
you may be in trouble. If you have a schedule that is so complex that
relaxing simply 0 doesn’t fit, it’s time to reevaluate. Schedule at
least an hour a day where you do ‘nothing’. Period.
Enjoy this age- you’re only in college once. It flies by just like the
rest of your life will, so embrace it. Enjoy it. Live it. If you have
to choose between a friend’s 21st birthday party and reading ten pages
in a book, go to the party. Read the pages before class the next day.
You’re young so challenge yourself to take advantage of that before
everything, and I mean everything, goes south.
I know you want to reach the top of your dreams with a Prada handbag to
boot, but no one made it to the top, and happily, without having to
learn to breathe and savor the moment.
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