
“Throughout my life, I worked over 14 hours daily for six and a half days a week,” Narayana Murthy
In today's fast-paced, technology-driven world, it's easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of daily life. We're constantly connected to our devices, bombarded with notifications, and pressured to meet deadlines. As a result, many of us are feeling stressed, anxious, and burnt out.
Most of this stress lies in the fact that we're often encouraged to push ourselves to the limit, to be constantly productive, and to never take a break. In fact, Narayana Murthy, an Indian billionaire and Chairman of Infosys has advocated such a working lifestyle, of working 14 hours a day!
But this approach is not only unsustainable, it's also unhealthy.
When we don't take the time to relax, we can experience burnout, decreased motivation, and a weakened immune system. Moreover, chronic stress can lead to serious health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, and mental health disorders.
People actually need more relief now than ever before. We are living more stressful, faster-paced lives than ever. An international study was conducted to measure the speed of life. An experiment was conducted by researchers who secretly timed how fast thousands of pedestrians walked in London, Madrid, Singapore and New York. According to this study, we walk about 10% faster now than twenty years ago, when a similar experiment was conducted. The biggest changes are found in and around Asia, where the pace of life in China increased by over 20% and where Singapore showed a 30% increase.
But what if we told you that there's a simple solution to all this chaos? It's time to learn to chill out.
A common expression we hear today is, "Chill." Just take it easy? Chill.
Chilling is pretty good advice. Especially if the word "chill" is used as an acronym, which I love using in both my teaching and speaking:
C - Calm down. When you're anxious, frenzied or pressed, stop. Take a deep breath and ask yourself, "Why?"
H - Hold back. Set a reasonable pace. Life is a marathon, not a sprint. If you want to last, pace yourself. And take time to rest.
I - Indulge your desire for fun. Do something with plenty of fun every day and try to put fun in your usual activities.
L - Learn how to just be. You already know how to DO. Take time to BE. Don't measure your life by what you accomplish, but by who you are. Be present. Be attentive. But be.
L - Let it go. You are not responsible for everything and everybody. In the immortal words of poet Robert Browning, "God's in His Heaven; all's right with the world."
You may feel like doing a Narayana Murthy in life, but if you need to enjoy life, "Chill" is a good word to remember…!
Robert Clements is a newspaper columnist and author. He blogs at www.bobsbanter.com and can be reached at bobsbanter@gmail.com