Are you ready for 2016? Well, it’s ready to go. The New Year is coiled in the starting blocks and waiting for that first midnight champagne cork to pop to signal the start, and off it goes.
For us it is all about catching up from there.
Suddenly we are asking, “Is it the 15th of January already?” Then daylight savings time arrives followed by the longest day of the year in June and the year is half gone. We are left in its wake, watching the year round the track ahead of us with no chance of gaining on it.
Some people will accelerate, turn on the burners and go faster and faster pushing themselves to grab the days that are disappearing ahead of them. They will burn out trying to catch up.
Check your calendars and see how many of the days ahead are already spoken for. Appointments, meetings, travel, many days down the road already penciled in.
These are days you have to work towards or work around, and the days with the fewest items scheduled in will be for you — rest and relaxation days.
I came across a website designed for me.
“The Joy of Laziness, How to Slow Down and Live Longer.” If it is on the internet, it has to be true, so I did some quality research. Most of the quotes are from not only a professor but a retired professor so this guy must know what he is talking about.
One of my favourite quotes that had me shaking my head in the affirmative as I read it was: “A more relaxed way of life is important for your health. If you lead a stressful life and exercise excessively, your body produces hormones which lead to high blood pressure and can damage your heart and arteries.”
Isn’t it great when you find a medical professional who confirms that if you sit on your butt you will live longer?
The doctor adds, “Laziness is also important for a healthy immune system because special immune-cells are stronger in times of relaxation than stress. During relaxation or “down time,” your metabolism is less active, which means the body produces fewer free radicals which speed the aging process.”
What this tells me is that when the New Year is in the starting blocks ready to explode around the track, rather than being in the lane beside it, I should be in the stands with a Coke and a hamburger and fries cheering it on, not trying to beat it.
We cannot neglect exercise altogether, but walking and fresh air, stopping to talk to your neighbours sounds much better that running or lifting weights. Critics of this theory will tell you 20 to 40 minutes of exercise, three times a week, is the best way to improve cardiovascular health, the immune system and general physical well-being.
So who do you believe? I think you believe your own body and your own mind. If you are happy and healthy, then your lifestyle is working. If you are tired, sore and complaining, then do something about it. I was complaining about my back and my knee and my grandson suggested I get some Tryactin.
When I questioned him he replied, “Quit whining and Tryactin like a man.”
The hours and days fly by. Once in a while, move over and let them pass.
At least that’s what McGregor says.
