The Importance of Leisure Activities for Stress Reduction
February 16th, 2006 (Stress Relief)
When author Hans Selye first published his now-classic book on the stress of life, he made the proposal that “no one part of the body must be disproportionately overworked for a long time.” It’s like carrying a heavy suitcase for an extended period of time with one arm, when you feel the pain (stress) of that arm, then you shift the bag to the other arm, so that the stress is equalized and no one set of muscles is overworked.
The same holds true in life as well. If we spend most of our time working, or relaxing, or doing too much church work, then we are overtaxing one part of our personality, and this is tension-producing.
As we have discussed in previous articles, many people today have become raging workaholics. They spend long hours at work and although they are enjoying what they are doing immensely, these people are not leading a balanced lifestyle. Eventually, through sickness, heart attacks, or other physical problems, nature catches up with them and they are forced to slow down.
A better way to start slowing down is to change our attitudes. We must recognize that leisure is not wrong or unnecessary and is not a misuse of talent or even a waste of time. Just like work is crucial to life, leisure is just as important. If we fail to take time for recreation, we may be successful at our career, but lose our family, friends, and even our health in the long run. Even just short breaks that are taken frequently can rejuvenate our mind and body and make our work more effective.
Once you have decided that leisure is important to you, next decide just how you plan on unwinding. That is difficult for most people, but a good place to start is by searching your past. What were some of the things that you enjoyed doing when you were younger? What were the hobbies that got you interested? What were the things that you always wanted to get into but never felt you had the time for? Work on relaxing in a way that is different than your work. If your job is sitting at a computer all day crunching numbers and writing text, when look towards outdoor activities like playing volleyball or hiking through nature. If your job is one that is very physical then look towards leisure activities that allows you to relax your body, like reading a good book, or going for a boat ride.