Many years ago when my husband was learning how to brew beer, he followed a book called, “The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing,” by Charlie Papazian. Anytime the instructions got complex or the process might be overwhelming, Papazian would throw in, “Relax. Don’t worry. Have a homebrew.”
During his first few batches of beer, I heard David use that mantra a lot!
While I’m not advocating drinking (unless it’s part of your personal optimal-wellness plan), I am encouraging the mindset—relax and focus on the positive.
Working to get fitter? Relax! Enjoy moving your body.
Want a new job? Relax! The perfect path is unfolding.
Want to be more spiritual? Relax! Enjoy your meditation.
Taking the emotional pressure off doesn’t mean you are shirking your responsibilities or not doing the work. With beer brewing, it didn’t mean getting so relaxed you skipped washing the bottles or bucket—not a particularly fun job, but very important to the process. It meant relax, wash the bottles and bucket. Do your best but don’t stress about it being perfect.
Relax and focus on the positive means trusting in the process more, allowing constructive anabolic energy to help you engage in what you are doing in the moment, and tapping into the support of the Universe (God, All-That-Is, Source Energy, Higher Coach—whatever works for you.)
While focus is important to meeting your goals, stress, worry, and disbelief generate destructive catabolic emotion that can hold you back or limit your success, make you quit before you reach the summit, or at the very least make the process a lot more painful.
So relax! Take life less seriously.
Relax! Ease up on yourself and others.
Relax! Make the process fun.
Relax! Laugh and make light of life.
Relax! You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.
What can you do today to remind yourself to relax and focus on the positive? What difference does that make in your ability to move forward?
Together we can do it!
Photo by Ambro/freedigitalphotos.net
Thank you Hanna. Perfect post for me today!
Awesome! So glad! Thanks for letting me know!
Great reminder, thank you! I actually read that book as well and he was a wonderful teacher, had forgotten that! 🙂
Love that you have read the book! Thanks for commenting!
Surprisingly sage advice in the bible of homebrewing. Perhaps I should be preparing a batch of Hanna’s Heavenly Stout to usher in Spring =0)
Think that would be an awesome idea! Love you!
I needed this today. Thank you Hanna.
So glad it was helpful!
This is wonderful advise….I always try to slow down when I feel myself becoming frenzied, and center myself….great post
Celeste
Centering yourself is so important. Thanks for sharing! Hanna
Stress kills. I gave it up for Lent.
Love it!
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Brilliant post! I love how you can come up with inspiration in some of the most unlikely places!
Oh, I don’t know. I think plenty of people have found inspiration in beer! 😉 Thanks for commenting! I appreciate you!
Thank you!