If the Kids get to summer camp, shouldn't you?

Are you having fun? Are you taking those moments so very necessary for good mental health? I know it's difficult to carve out time and space for yourself. Our work places are more competitive. Our bosses are up against greater pressures to produce more with less. Thus, we're up against it, trying to be more productive with less time. Many of us find ourselves logging longer hours, sometimes... No, not sometimes, OFTEN, we're doing so off the clock, essentially working for free, more out of self preservation than a love of the job.

All of this is exhausting. And if we could only be heard, we could stand up and demonstrate with study after study that proves employees are more productive when they're rested, supported and working in a positive environment. You needn't have a degree in psychology to see this is true, think about the last time you were complimented, by ANYONE. How did you feel? If it was a stranger complimenting your look, did you have a spring in your step? A smile, did a smile sneak across your face? Did you find yourself wanting to pay it forward? Last time you complimented someone, did you notice a boost in warmth/kindness in that relationship. Each time I compliment my daughter, I end up with an 'I love you dad' and a hug at some point in the next few hours.

Look to other countries as examples as well. Many European countries are proactive in making sure their workforce has 'holiday'. Many of the travelers I've met have upwards of 6-weeks of leave each and every year. In Asian countries it's not uncommon to see the workforce exercising together at their place of employment. We've heard of the 'siesta'. Many Latin based cultures close in the afternoon, for siesta, the businesses close down and folks relax.

My intent is to encourage you for you. I know, as well as anyone, there are many times in our lives we must do what we must do and if that means long hours, we have to log them. Too, I know, as do you, we need to rest. We're human. Our bodies have requirements. Thus, you should take a few moments for you, time to recuperate, time to recharge.

These moments can be quick, easy and quite affordable. Something as simple as a morning walk. Some time to read. If you've been closed up and locked in your own world, morning coffee with some friends. If the wallet allows, a weekend getaway, something simple. Maybe a trip to the coast, stay in a motel chain, spend your days sitting on the beach. Or, if you live near a port of call, walk the dock districts. Pick up a local free paper, like the News and Review or the XX Weekly and look for free music venues. If you're buried in work, if your head is down, your neck knots of fatigued muscle from laboring over your computer, baby steps are the way to break back into the world of BALANCE!

Now, if your wallet is a bit healthier, look to something new, something a bit more challenging than a local getaway. Do something completely new, to get in and around new people, to experience new things and stimulate new personal growth. Try the Sierra Club or 20/30 Club. If you're really looking for something new, like a recent client told me, then try an adult summer camp. Adult meaning age and not anything that would require the movie rating company. Get to an adventure camp and have fun moving again, meeting new people and experiencing much personal empowerment.

Adventure trips are excellent sources of entertainment and extremely cathartic. For many of the same reasons as they're positive for kids, they're positive for adults. You get to meet new people. You get to challenge yourself and set new mental limits as to what you are and are not capable of accomplishing. You'll swell with pride as you overcome obstacles. You'll be surrounded by the best, most engaging staff you could ever hope to find. You'll have a bit of the finer aspects of life as someone cooks and prepares your meals for you. And you'll get out of the concrete walls that surround so many of us and get back into the fresh air of Mother Nature. It's really an excellent place to get normalized.

Since you're logging all these extra hours, I hope you're having fun. If you're like so many of us, you're not. You're counting on the ability to cash in on all these hours banked. You need to begin the withdrawal of YOU-TIME now. We all know this to be true. It's the nagging in the back of your mind. We're just incredibly tough creatures. We're able to put our bodies and minds through years of abuse, to put off what is essential to happy living. Our bodies will just keep plugging along. I put it off too long. I'm 100-pounds overweight, had a small heart blip on Mother's Day a year ago and my life had become all work. As mentioned, I'm encouraging baby-steps. I simply want you to take the time you deserve, the time you need to be more balanced, healthier and happier as well as more productive.

Finally I've begun making the time, little by little. I'm feeling better, laughing more, losing some of the weight and generally spending more 'quality time' with my family. They're happier for it too. You know, for all the reporting and negative in papers and on television, there is surprisingly little about taking care of ourselves mentally. I encourage you to do so. This past week I spent forty minutes of one afternoon riding my bike with my 15-year old daughter. It was the best time I'd spent in a long time.


Christopher Pyle is the owner/director of Action Whitewater Adventures of California. He has an adventure summer camp for teens and is offering a mini summer camp for adults this year. If you're interested in a mini-break, and would like to get together with adults, in a completely new and exciting venue, check out their camp page, make contact and share your interest in the adult program.