You’ve got a lot on your plate. We know the feeling – it’s more or less a staple of everyday life nowadays. With all the hustle and bustle of work, school runs and the inevitable daily admin of everyday life, inner peace and calm can seem like something that’s almost impossible to attain. You can always get a bit of help with relaxation from luxury scented candles like Lavender, but there are a couple of other methods you can use to focus your mind, and discover your inner peace. Here are some of our tried-and-tested favourites!
Know what’s important
Sometimes it feels like every time you get a task done, life drops another one right on your lap. Before long, that to-do list can pile up until it seems almost overwhelming. That way madness lies! But there’s a reason we have to-do lists in the first place. It’s more than just writing down jobs so you can remember them. List-writing has long proven to be an effective way to deal with anxiety, and is recommended by many mental health professionals. It provides a way to focus your brain, helping you to prioritise. If your task-list is piling up, take a moment to work out what’s truly worthy of your attention. Once you do, you might find that you’ve not got as much to be stressed about as you first thought.
Having one day where you have a clear-out of the house can help for the same reasons as it can help to have a day when you finally sort out the important stuff on your to-do list. (Candles like Shine are great for giving you a burst of energy on days like that!) It helps you to identify what’s urgent, what you need to do and what you need to have. Anything that doesn’t demand your immediate attention doesn’t need to demand constant stress.
Know your triggers
There’s a reason you react negatively to certain situations, where others might find it easy to stay calm. Don’t forget though, that no matter how unflappable they might seem, they’ll have their own triggers! Understanding what influences your reactions is the first step to exercising greater control over them. Ask yourself why you feel the way you do in certain situations, and be ruthless about your answers. The next time you find yourself in a similar situation, you might find it just that bit easier to react dispassionately. If not – well, again, it’s all about practice!
If you have a particularly rubbish day – we all have them from time to time! – you can always chill out and relax with a hot bath and a Lavender candle burning gently in the corner.
Surrender and accept what is
We worry a lot about what we can’t control. The solution is simple, though not easy: act on what you can, and don’t worry about what you can’t. (We told you it was easier said than done!) If you can influence a situation, take confidence in your decisions. And if you’re waiting to hear about an outcome, make whatever preparations and back-up plans you feel you need to. Beyond that, there’s no reason for it to demand stress from you. It sounds impossible, but really it’s like anything else – it simply takes practice.
If you’re struggling, try and view the situation from a detached perspective. How would you advise someone else to handle it? Is it the same as what you’re doing? If not, why? Taking a step back to view the problem from an outside lens can be more helpful than you give it credit for. And don’t forget, you can always actually ask your friends!
Take full responsibility for how you react to others
No matter how much evidence there feels like there is to the contrary, other people don’t make you behave a certain way. You can choose your reaction, even if it doesn’t always feel like it! Don’t let adrenaline take over, and take your time in stressful situations. You can decide who you want to be, and how you want to react. Mentally prepare yourself for a calm, unflappable response during particularly trying times.
Give yourself a break
This is perhaps the most important one of all! We can relate here at Melt – we get so engrossed in our work in the chandlery, and dreaming up new scents for our luxury candles that we forget to switch off every once in a while. It’s important to give yourself some time to recuperate, whether you’re a working parent, or dealing with a long commute, or simply feeling like you’re being spread too thin. Or, of course, all of the above! Take a little time every day just for you, and don’t feel guilty about what you do during it. Even if it’s just half an hour in front of the telly!
Personally, we love the idea of a private bit of yoga or meditation with our luxury scented candles. Again – you know what we’re about to say – it takes a bit of practice, but the benefits you can ultimately enjoy from it are almost heavenly.
We’d recommend softer scents for your relaxation time, such as the silky scent of Blush. If you’ve got your own favourites amongst our range of handmade candles, though, it’s really up to you! You can take a look through our full range here, or pop down to our little shop on the farm and browse to your heart’s content!
