Pack a suitcase

The best way to switch on your creativity is to turn on your brain. Have you ever noticed how bright ideas start to flow when you’re relaxed?

When I need to clear some space in my mind, I like to take a shower and slip into a Japanese robe, before settling down beside the crystals in our garden waterfall for a session of yoga. Running water, whether it’s from the shower head or the stream, carries a new flow of energy into my soul.

This effect is magnified whenever I go somewhere new. When I left Israel in the early Seventies, I vowed that, no matter how hard I was working, I would always treat my life as a holiday. The excitement of seeing new countries, exploring new cultures and making new friends has been a joy for me ever since.

I am in Sweden weekly now waking every morning to magnificent views across the capital, Stockholm. My television show has me buzzing with energy, and more than ever I am brimming with creativity and ideas. Hanna and I loved it so much that we were talking about coming to live in Scandinavia all the year round, of buying a secluded home on one of the beautiful islands. 

And then I remembered how often I’ve felt the same way, everywhere from California to Moscow, and Brazil to Tokyo. The holiday effect is all in the mind. It’s that wonderful sensation that excitement is all around, and everything is possible. Worries are far away, and when our brains are empty of stress, new and positive feelings can rush in.

So for this week’s Mind power Flash Mob, I want all my website visitors to pack a suitcase and join me on holiday.

But here’s the twist — instead of filling your case with clothes and suntan lotion, I want you to fill it with all your worries.

Make a list, just as you would of your holiday items before you catch a plane. Make sure you include everything that’s weighing down your mind. The simple act of writing the worry down on paper is the first step to relaxation.

Now imagine that you have a capacious suitcase open before you. Reach up into the air and grasp your first worry with both hands, and pack it into the case. Then take the next worry, and the next, cramming them on top of each other until everything on your list is in there. Now zip the suitcase shut.

I’m a careful traveller, so I always secure the zip with a little padlock and secure the case with straps. Now it’s time to load the luggage onto a conveyor belt at the airport check-in, and let the crew stow it in an aeroplane’s cargo hold. But you won’t be getting on board!

Watch the plane gather speed along the runway, lift off and fly into the blue sky until it’s just a speck… and then it’s gone completely. And it’s taken all your worries with it.

Now we’re all on a stress-free holiday — at home