When I was younger, I enjoyed multicultural areas mostly because of how interesting it was, and how good the food was. It was interesting meeting people from other cultures. Now, I am older — a lot older. I no longer find it interesting to meet boring people from other cultures (unless they are interesting.) However, I find it interesting to see the cultural effects on my life and business.
Business people tend to over-do it!
Many of us who are small business owners, managers, or executives find ourselves with too many tasks to do in too little time. Stress builds up, and instead of slowing down, we try to find ways to go faster. Sometimes you need to go slower to go faster. Studies show that those who take a vacation or regular breaks live happier lives and last longer in their careers. You are no exception. So, what does this have to do with having a Thai side of your personality?
The various sides of your personality
If you have a friend who is of mixed ancestry such as half Jewish and half Puerto Rican, the jokes never end. The Jewish side of your friend likes words while the Puerto Rican side of his personality loves to party! These are stereotypes, but on the other hand, there is some truth to these preconceived notions about culture. If you do business, you have the workaholic side of your personality. This is kind of necessary if you are to get anything done. I remember when I was in my 20’s and quite a slacker. Nobody trusted me to get anything done. Now, I am a workaholic. But, my body starts slowing down and shutting down when I over-do it. That is why I like to slow down. I like to do relaxing things.
The Thai side of my personality
The business side of my personality could be said to be similar of American workaholics, Koreans, or other imbalanced people. But, I know how to slow down too. I started a habit of having Thai food near the beach in Malibu. I find it therapeutic to be around most Thai people. They have a very relaxed way of talking, and are generally nice. Their food is excellent as well, and healthy. The soothing vibes of the nearby ocean relax me as well. I sleep better after having some ocean energy infused into me. I go to Thai massage weekly to relax my tense muscles and my agitated mind. The way they do massage is very calming — unlike certain OTHER Asian nationalities who are spastic the way they do their work!
The Thai Jeremy
One night, I had a bad headache. I frantically started rubbing my head and putting ayurvedic oil in my hair. The oil does miracles by the way. Whatever part of my body I put ayurvedic oil, it feels better within half an hour, even if I have a tummy ache! But, my feverish way of massaging myself was too much. I stopped and said to myself, “Let me do the same calming movements that Thai people do when they massage people.” So, I slowed down. I entered into a Zen or Thai Buddhist state of mind. I said, “It is o-kay, just re-lax.” I said this very slowly the way Thais would. Then, I said, “I am the Thai Jeremy, I massage for you!” Wow! What a transformation. I never knew I had a Thai side of my personality. Then, I decided that I needed to change the pronunciation to Jelemy to be more authentic. The Thais confuse n’s, l’s, and r’s together. It becomes a syllabic mess if you ask me, but that is okay.
Even though my hands were moving more slowly, the soothing effect of my self-massage was faster! The way muscles react to massage is actually quite complicated to understand. The muscles feel relaxed more easily if movements are a little slower, and especially if there is a mental energy of calmness being transmitted. As a matter of fact, if you were a Shaman or Yogi, you can massage yourself without moving a muscle — just by using your mind to transmit relaxing or cleansing energies to various parts of your body.
After this unusual or perhaps bizarre experience that I created for myself, I decided that this was excellent. Why depend solely on other people’s calm energy to sooth myself when I can create this energy myself with a little oil, massage cream, and Thai Tiger Baum (use with caution.)
Periodic bouts of relaxation and vacation do the trick.
By virtue of the fact that I have learned to relax periodically during the week, I am regenerated and able to handle rigorous, and emotionally difficult tasks during the week that I wouldn’t otherwise be able to handle. Additionally, I like to go out of state once a month for a few days. Yes, it is expensive, but the desert, mountains, and beach really revives me and I don’t function the same without a break of two to eight days a month! I often bring my work with me which is not a problem. It is not about avoiding work, it is about being in an environment which stimulates my body’s energies and/or relaxes me. Although stimulation and relaxation seem opposite in nature, they are actually not. Stress and relaxation are opposites. Relaxation leads to the ability to be stimulated after the fact. But, in my case, after a trip to the desert, I am able to work eleven hours a day for several days and then gradually slow down. After a trip to the beach for a few days, I am on high energy for four days. If I don’t travel for a month, then I’m on low energy, and can only work about six hours a day. My body’s energies are fascinating, and I’m glad I know how to keep them in harmony and balance.