Haruki Murakami Quotes

I am just relaxing and enjoying myself, doing what I always did.

Once you just tell yourself, 'OK, I'm going to have a breakdown right now, and I'm going to cry for an hour, put my phone away. I'm going to go swimming, and then I'm gonna make my family dinner and lay on the couch and watch 'Ru Paul's Drag Race,'' once you accept that it's not the day and you can just have a breakdown, you're over it.

I talk to myself quite a lot, and when things get stressful, I just tell myself to breathe.

Do the little things that make you feel normal and happy, even if that's just getting in your pyjamas and watching 'X Factor' at the weekend.

I think it's just really good to be honest with yourself and if I'm not feeling up for something I have no problem staying in my room in ordering some food and relaxing and managing my energy and kind of just checking in with myself throughout the day.

Sometimes you gotta get stupid with yourself, and you gotta enjoy your own company some time.

Taking lunch by myself every once in a while and slowing down - that helps me a lot.

I think having pointers and having guidance from mentors is very important, but it never actually embodies what you go through. And if something doesn't feel good, why do you repeat it? If you feel good bemoaning an audition for a week, go for it. But if you feel better bemoaning an audition that didn't go very well for 30 minutes because you believe in the craft and the process, then I suggest you do that. And that's what I suggest to myself. The alternative is way too painful and destructive.

I pray. I try to find space to process with a walk on the beach, a hike in the hills. Nature is restorative. I also try not to overreact. I grew up in Ireland, and we are big tea drinkers, and I think it's less about the tea itself and more about the ritual and the moment to prepare.

We humans have lost the wisdom of genuinely resting and relaxing. We worry too much. We don't allow our bodies to heal, and we don't allow our minds and hearts to heal.

When I start getting embroiled in heated debates and feeling stressed, I just turn everything off and disconnect from the world. I simply tell my colleagues and friends that I am not well and need to cancel all meetings for a day or more. I take it easy - go for a long hike, take a vacation somewhere, or just stay at home and read.

I've learned to take care of myself. You know, I try to stay conscious of whatever my energy is at all times, really. I mean, I come home from work, and, depending on the day or depending on what was going on, if I needed to adjust, I'd just meditate, or play guitar, or watch some 'Monty Python.'

I want to be relaxed in my personal life. I really don't like to be hassled.

If the relentless personal maintenance plan has taken over your life, give it a rest.

If I could give my teenaged self any advice, it would be 'Calm down!'

I let my personal feelings take care of themselves. I find that works better.

You shouldn't feel guilty about taking time for yourself. Every so often, everyone needs to give themselves a big ol' bear hug and treat themselves to some TLC.

Keep going on hikes, keep having your friends in your life, keep that downtime sacred as well because as hard as you work in any job, it's really nice to have the relaxing de-stressors. Stress is the worst thing. That's the ultimate demise of any good thing.

All mental hygiene is based on the core practice of doing nothing. Most of us are good at wasting time, staring at the wall while telling ourselves we should be working. We call this doing nothing, but our brains are furiously active. We think constantly, and our thinking is often rife with distress.

I've learned to set boundaries and know when to say, 'I just need to rest.' I'm good at listening to what my body's telling me.

Many of us have been running all our lives. Practice stopping.

My own nature hovers between neurotic and paranoid. I've developed the habit of mentally listing things that make me optimistic about the future. I do it every day.

I find it very difficult to relax. I find it increasingly difficult to find outlets for my frustration.

I have from time to time been a double A or triple A personality. I'm not anymore. I'm more lenient on myself.

If I'm sending emails, and I get all wound up and stressed and don't know what to do with myself for 20 minutes, I just go soak in hot water and lie there, thinking, 'What should I do?' So it's meditative.