What's your favorite way to relax?

We all have those days where we're on the verge of exploding from either school or work stress. The concept of "me time" is slowly fading with busy schedules and lifestyles that pride constant work over relaxation. But, it's important to relieve stress from time to time before it becomes destructive. My favorite ways to relax are to read a book and go running. What are yours?

89 Comments
 

vigorous sex followed by a vigorous swim. never fails.

"I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. " -GG
 

Personally I love to go the gym around 8pm, then smoke and make food then go to sleep. It gives you some time to not really think about anything else.

 

I fly every week.

I've really started to enjoy the flight back on Thursday night. Being able to board the plane first through Sky Priority is really a great perk.

I just put my headphones in and try and listen to a new album or two every flight from beginning to end and use the time to collect my thoughts and reflect. People see business travel as a pain but I try and use the flight home as a few moments of peace where I can just be with my own thoughts. I also enjoy people watching all of the idiots that aren't very good flyers.

 

I have a slight superiority complex when it comes to flying, it's amazing how many ppl struggle/get incredibly stressed with it.

Don't have the pleasure of business perks normally though!

 

Totally agree, traveling noobs really crack me up.

On Sunday people will ask me if I've packed and it will be like 1 in the afternoon, complaining that it takes them all day.

It's not difficult, all I need is underwear, socks, 1 extra pair of dress pants, 3 dress shirts, tennis shoes, 1 t-shirt, and jeans or shorts, and then my toiletries. 15 minutes top.

And then there's the people who get to the airport 2 hours early. Nope, never, I get there 45 minutes to 1 hour before my flight leaves. Never once had a close call, even on holidays/major travel days.

Traveling is very simple. Pack, show up on time, fly.

 

After studying or finishing an exam, I usually read or play video games to burn off any stress. After I come home on the weekends from work, I usually go to the gym to clear my mind. For me personally, having multiple activities to relax has worked out more than having only one outlet.

 
Best Response

Get drunk and do pullups on Chaturbate in the nude

heister: Look at all these wannabe richies hating on an expensive salad. https://arthuxtable.com/
 
"GoldenCinderblock"

Get drunk and do pullups on Chaturbate in the nude

yo all jokes aside, I did do this my last 3 workouts (not naked) and made like $80 so far
heister: Look at all these wannabe richies hating on an expensive salad. https://arthuxtable.com/
 

During business school interviews:

Interviewer at HBS: Tell me the coolest thing you've done not on this paper (points at resume)

GC: Paid off undergrad tuition by streaming workout sessions and giving bros advice on my extremely popular online channel

Interviewer: Hmm....(thinks to himself) social media background.......this guy could be the next Felix Kjellberg (PewDiePie).....imagine that endowment! (raises head) Sounds good (trying to act unimpressed)

2 months later, letter arrives:

Dear Golden Cinderblock

Congratulations! You have been selected for the MBA Class of 2020 at Harvurd Business School......

GoldenCinderblock: "I keep spending all my money on exotic fish so my armor sucks. Is it possible to romance multiple females? I got with the blue chick so far but I am also interested in the electronic chick and the face mask chick."
 

Lots of good suggestions in this thread that I would recommend.

However, when I'm truly up with my back against a wall and I need to stop dwelling on stress fast so I can perform, I do meditation.

A great read is "The Inner Game of Tennis" by W. Timothy Gallwey. Deals a lot with how the brain functions mechanically and how the byproduct of unregulated functioning can be useless stress. It also addresses this topic through the lens of a sports trainer, so it's a very anecdotal, short and accessible read, not too heavy on science.

Really, anything that gets your mind off the subject of chewing itself up and self-criticizing is good stress relief, which is why running/vice/reading all work well. But I think meditation, once you're practiced, is a much more direct route that can get you focused fast in a pinch. It also addresses the problem much more directly than running etc. because it teaches you to recognize how you're thinking (as a mechanical process) and how you can intervene in that process to channel it more effectively. In that way, meditation becomes a prophylactic measure against stress whereas running etc. only treat the symptoms of stress.

Array
 

Normally I'll go to workout then watch some sort of documentary or thriller. I usually just try to clear my mind of anything else and at least get some sort of exercise even if it is just fifteen-thirty minutes.

 

Don't, if you want kids. If you think of them as little critters though, go ahead, life's too short.

GoldenCinderblock: "I keep spending all my money on exotic fish so my armor sucks. Is it possible to romance multiple females? I got with the blue chick so far but I am also interested in the electronic chick and the face mask chick."
 

After a break up years back, I started training for a triathlon. The hours I spent running, swimming and biking allowed me to self reflect on the situation. I had some great epiphanies while training: I stopped self loathing, and found a good direction for my life.

The training now has turned into a pseudo therapy session for me. If I ever feel anxious or "out of balance," I'll do a 5 mile beach run or a long swim. Lots of people think exercise is a chore, I find it a good way to rebalance the scale and find some alone time.

"A man can convince anyone he's somebody else, but never himself."
 

I spend a lot of my time composing music. If you learned an instrument as a kid but quit, it's great to try picking it up again. Not to play in any organized group necessarily but just as a creative outlet by yourself. While there's some amount of creativity involved in the fields people on this forum work in, it's very different from true artistic creativity. Definitely utilizes a part of your brain that goes unused for most people.

 

I have not been getting enough playing in. That was one nice thing about being in a band basically had to play. Writing is awesome when you have good energy with someone and comparable skill levels. Nothing beats when you pick a key and start improvising. It is a great way to generate a large amount music that can be used in different songs. However, when drama shows up it can be worse than a bad girlfriend.

Only two sources I trust, Glenn Beck and singing woodland creatures.
 

I prefer harvesting the animals. However, tanning is something I would not mind learning.

Only two sources I trust, Glenn Beck and singing woodland creatures.
 

I pick up heavy things and then put them down.

The greater the stress, the heavier the things.

"Son, life is hard. But it's harder if you're stupid." - my dad
 
"dmw86"

I pick up heavy things and then put them down.

The greater the stress, the heavier the things.

While listening to man in the box I assume?

 

well now that i'm in mexico... can't wait for my first visit to the coast: beach, umbrella, warm water, couple cold beers,

when in the city: massage, gym / pool, long walk in the park w/ a jre podcast

WSO Content & Social Media. Follow us: Linkedin, IG, Facebook, Twitter.
 

To chill:

  • Sleep in on a Saturday morning, make coffee, read, watch F1 qualifying.

Something active:

  • Canyon carving or a track day on the motorcycle
"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it." - George Bernard Shaw
 

At the junior level at least, I find most of the stress is not physical (hours) but mental (dealing with shitty senior bankers and dumb clients). I lifted regularly for about 10 years but since I've been in banking, I prefer to run. Running is better for me because it lets me keep my weight in a manageable range, and lifting is not really ideal for weight management.

After you put on the 1st year 10 lbs, if you just continue your lifting routine, you will just look fat. Also the intensity of running and being able to crank it up in short bursts is better for my stress release imo. If you're like me and tend to bottle your stress, my suggestion would be any high intensity physical activity.

After a bad week, besides exercising, I also like to get really shit faced. Not quite black-out drunk, but I feel like that helps with stress levels too.

 

wikileaks,

As long as you are doing your best you can do nothing more. I am happy that you are attending the gym even though you have long work hours. In regards to not hitting your lifts, have you thought about changing your gym routine from strength to hypertrophy?

Continue eating clean, working hard at both the office and the gym -- but also find one hobby be it surfing, or an mmorpg computer game and don't penny pinch this hobby. This will take your mind off work.

my .02

What concert costs 45 cents? 50 Cent feat. Nickelback.
 

Gym in the morning. After a certain point you do have to choose what you want most.

if you work 80hrs a week, sleep 6hrs a day, and it takes an avg 2hrs for shit like teeth brushing/shit/(cold)shower/shave/eating/laundry, that gives you and average of 4.5hrs a day for gym, sex, and studying/side gig. Or getting shitfaced and kicked out of bars while drunk dialing that one hot teacher from high school. If you sit down to establish a good schedule and stick to it, you'll probably see you still waste a ton of time on stupid shit. I wouldn't try to actually cut all the fat, it drove me insane personally, but being mindful of where you actually spend your time vs where you actually spend it can help a lot.

There's a cool chart about this- just make a pie chart of how you want to spend your time, then track and compare to what you really do after a week or two. Revise (there's usually things you forget to plan for the first go-around) and try to stick to it. I had reminders set to remind me when to switch things up because I tend to lose track of time at work.

 
swagonAwesome video, but I don't see how the slopes truly "relax" people. I would think most people go for the rush.

I think it's about getting in the moment. Everything else ceases to exist except for carving lines down the slope. All the bullsh*t evaporates and you're left with the ecstasy of the moment.

For me, it's surfing. It's being out in the water, waiting for the swell, then just dropping in and bombing down your line. Greatest feeling ever

impossible is a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given rather than exploring the power they have to change it
 
swagonAwesome video, but I don't see how the slopes truly "relax" people. I would think most people go for the rush.

The rush is great, but it's the calm after the rush that you can't beat

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 

Good topic. For me, it's the little things that count:

  • Listening to music on the subway
  • Cigarette after a busy week
  • Reading a bedtime story to my niece and watching her fall asleep
  • Laughing with friends
 

That lighting has to give him range blindness. "Oh shit a cliff"

Follow the shit your fellow monkeys say @shitWSOsays Life is hard, it's even harder when you're stupid - John Wayne
 

lol, I think that'd be an interesting method of finding your way down a mountain

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 

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