Slow down to speed up!

"How does one woodcutter get so many wood pieces when his co-worker doesn’t even get half as many?" wondered the employer. 

To see what happens he hid behind a tree. He saw one woodcutter constantly hitting the trees with his axe while the other guy took multiple breaks in between. When the two woodcutters came back, he was amazed. He saw the guy who took multiple breaks got more wood than the other.

"How did that happen?", asked the employer. The guy with more wood replied, "I sharpened my axe and relaxed my body every time I took a break." 

Sometimes in life, we have to slow down to speed up. So, take a break to sharpen your axe! Here are few tips you can follow:

Know your strengths and weaknesses. Everybody has weaknesses. Take pride in what strengths you have rather than getting depressed on what you don't. If you ask a turtle to run fast and a hare to swim, you will see both fail miserably. It is essential that we are aware of our weaknesses and work on them, but we should play to our strengths.

Don’t compare yourself with others. Everybody has a different story - different struggles and different victories. So don’t compare their best to your worst and feel bad. You are the best you! Get inspired from other's success and better yourself every day, every year.

Take frequent breaks. Your mind needs break. Take a walk, stretch yourself, let the blood flow through the body. Drink some water, wash your face. Lets the fresh air reach the brain. Fresh mind leads to creative ideas and increases productivity. 

Take a step back. Pause, look at the problem from a distance, from a different angle, you may find a better solution. It's important to rethink, ask as to why are we solving this problem. Is this the right problem to solve? Often people are stuck in one track thinking and go too far in one direction.

Sleep well. Sleeping helps reduce stress and increases memory power. Brain detoxifies and rejuvenates only during sleep. Also it is important to sleep with positive thoughts and attitude. Read a positive mental attitude book, inspiring quote or something that makes you happy before going to sleep.

Eat well. It is important that you eat nourished food. Take a balanced diet with fresh fruits. Proper food helps in proper functioning of your brain. Be happy and focus on the food, enjoy every bite while eating. 

Meditate and do deep breathing. Oxygen is very important for your body and brain. Take deep breaths. Engage in 10-15 mins of meditation. Most successful people do some form of meditation. 

Celebrate small victories. When you achieve a goal, celebrate it. Eat your favorite food at your favorite restaurant, play with your friends/kids, go out for a movie. Appreciate and pamper yourself. Life will give you few big victories, but thousands of small victories.

Strike a balance. Your body and mind is like a rubber band. So stretch yourself and go beyond your comfort zone to grow, but do not push yourself so hard that you break. Listen to your body signals like body ache, fatigue and give yourself some breaks. Life is not a 100 meters dash, its a marathon!

Success is a planned event. You need to think about it and plan it, keeping your strengths and weaknesses in mind. It is a recipe, where all ingredients are important. Just being intelligent may not cut it, just being a hard worker may not be sufficient. It requires a strong dream, guts to stand in strong winds, proper planning, guidance, emotional support, persistence, hard work, focus and a positive attitude!

Would love to hear your thoughts - what are few things you do to incorporate "slowdown to speed up" in your life?