In this fast-paced world where people are too busy and more focused on work, everyone would agree that getting a leisure time is still important.
Words that are usually associated with resting, doing something that we have been putting off, or spending our time in an amusing or entertaining way. In this busy world we live in, each of us indeed need to have a change of pace from time to time. We all need a breath of fresh air from all the stress caused by work and any other day-to-day activities. Leisure time will help us all to get a rest from all the stress either at school, at work or simply the household chores. We often associate leisure to resting and spending time on something that us entertaining and amusing.
Yes, no matter how busy we are in with our daily activities, we need some leisure time to achieve a balanced and happy life. But there are some who makes pleasure and relaxation as the principal pursuit in their life.
Relaxation and leisure tends to be excessive, so instead of enjoyment and refreshment, it can cause harm to oneself and even to the people around.
Leisure's Consequences to Oneself. Most people nowadays have a day or two to take a rest from their works. But aside from that we all have the latter part of the day or the evening to take a rest. Others fill up their evenings by doing another work or job, but others use it for leisure. Many people spend it on partying and excessive drinking of alcoholic beverages. However, the harmful effects of excessive drinking and abuse of alcohol is not only limited to poor performance at work, others gets into accidents and acquire physical injuries while some gets in troubles.
Surprisingly, studies show that leisure time can also cause psychological problems. Many vacationers, instead of relaxing and enjoying their vacations feels bored and lonely, adjusting to their new environment is a challenge and the period of preparation for the vacation is also stressful.
Leisure's Consequences to Others. Aside from harming one's own self, leisure time can also inflict consequences on others. Some employees perform poorly on their job after their leisure time, and it affects other employees too. To set an example, let us consider the results of having many tourists in one place. Just like what happened in Boracay Island in the Philippines, tourism caused the natural ecology on that island to become polluted and the damage is not limited to the ecology, the economy in that particular place was also affected and a lot of local residents lost their source of income when the island underwent a rehabilitation, probably two years ago.
The result is indeed lamentable due to the negligence of both the pleasure seekers and some business owners.
All of us undeniably wants to enjoy our life. And most people try to fulfill such desire through different forms of recreation during their leisure hours.
Recreation has various benefits to our mental and physical health, only if we keep it in its proper place.
What can we do to have a balanced view of leisure?
Set Priorities. It is only imperative for us to do the more important things. How much time are you going to spend for leisure and recreation, and when are you going to engage in such activity? The answer to this will reflect or show what are your priorities in life — the things you find as more important and which are unimportant.
Set limits. We should have self-control and moderation to limit our leisure time to what is really important. Think about how you use your leisure time. Do you excessively use it purely for pleasure and unimportant things? Recreation should not make you feel that you have wasted out your time on unnecessary things. If you are left feeling exhausted and empty after a recreational activity, it should be an indication for you to make some adjustments in the use of your leisure time.
Be reasonable. When it comes to relaxation and recreation, you should also take into consideration the cost — how much are you going to spend on a certain recreation activity. If your pursuit of a certain leisure activity will mean neglecting your family, work and other more important things, then it's not worth the price. You might want to look for alternatives or change your plan.
Happiness isn't caused by having available free time. We can gain happiness only if we have a balanced view of leisure and relaxation.
