How many of us think that the best way to take time out and relax is to go on holiday?

Why then do so many of us get so stressed out while on holiday?Then come back feeling that we need a holiday to get over the holiday and to catch up with the mountain of work on our return.

This month we discuss Culture, specifically the Fijian Culture around Resilience, the use of Positive language and Thinking.

Vinaka!

Damian and the team at MindStore Australia.

The clue is in the question.

For many  people I speak with its the inability to take time. Time to think.

There is much spoken, tweeted, and presented about Resilience and Postitivity.

During a family trip last year to Fiji. I was shown amazing examples of living the above. If you have been yourself you wil know exactly what I mean.

Our hotel transfer taxi arrived in “Fiji time”. When the driver felt it was the right time. And if you stay long enough you apparently tune in and will “just know” when it will arrive. Talk about intuitive thinking.

Fijian people have an attitude and a pace which is thoughtful relaxed and peaceful.

We arrive with our pre-planned excel spreadsheet schedule. Planned to maximise our vacation. Stressing on the first morning that the restaurant wasn’t open at 7 am for breakfast when it should be, which made us stress about missing the dive boat, which stressed us about being late to pick the boys us from kindy!!! What kind of holiday is this we think!

However we soon adapt the Fijian attitude and rythmn. The next day we wait outside for the restaurant to open watching the turtles, the dive boat leaves when everyone is ready and the children had a great time and didnt want to leave.

During our trip I became more of a human being, as opposed to a human doing.

Making time to stop; to watch the sunset; being at peace; being present; being around for family.

Resilience:

One morning I asked Kitty the cook how she coped with the recent storms which caused severe damage to her village and her home. She paused, smiled widely and said, “Its Ok, I will start again”

Thats Resilience. She had no insurance, no family to help her, and little government support.

Positive talk:

Fijian people talk, think and act positively, naturally without attending training courses or seminars. It is part of their culture handed down from generation to generation.

If its a cloudy day, visitors say “its such an terribly cloudy day, looks like we will get rain today, I bet its sunny back in Brisbane”

Fijians say “the sun been lazy today, the rain is good for our crops”

You might be thinking, what is the point in the story above:

1. The point is that we don’t need to go overseas on holiday to see a sunset. The sun sets at home over the trees, hills or buildings (every evening).

2. Challenge yourself to take the time out, once this week, to sit for 10 minutes and watch the sun disappear and the clouds change colours.

3. When doing this think about your day, think about how you are going to spend your evening. Then go into your evening refreshed from that 10 minute time out.

4. Next time you are aware of saying something negative about the weather or more importantly your family or work collegues. Think of the Fijians and use a positive alternative. It takes practise, and will make all the difference in your communication with people.

Everyone needs time to review, to reassess and to reflect. Make time to think. You will see the benefits including better clarity in thinking and decision making.

Practise accessing your thinking for improved quality time to recharge, to review your day, to see that you did the best you could, to reassess your next day and reflect on how you could think, listen and act with greater clarity to achieve more.

So in the spirit of Fiji, I am relaxed that Septembers newsletter is just going out in the middle of the month and not the 1st business day. Does it matter?

Vinaka for taking time to read this and keep smiling.

“Festina Lente”

Latin for “make haste slowly”