Relax and be complete

From day one, we are taught that taking it easy is important for a balanced lifestyle. In nursery, aside from finger painting and making shapes out of clay, time is set aside for napping. In kindergarten, frequent breaks are taken in between singing and learning how to use the scissors. Then there is the children’s poem by Wayne Fields from What the River Knows that goes:

The best six doctors anywhere

And no one can deny it

Are sunshine, water, rest, and air

Exercise and diet.

These six will gladly you attend

If only you are willing

Your mind they’ll ease

Your will they’ll mend

And charge you not a shilling.

It’s a rhyme that’s simple enough for any five-year-old to understand. The message, however, is pertinent throughout the generations.

As we get older, we oftentimes forget how important the “doctors” in the poem by Mr. Fields are. Cooped up in our offices, some of us have become tenacious workaholics who have no time to unwind, and have fallen prey to lack of exercise and addiction to fast/junk food. It’s good to be driven at work, but definitely, that drive will begin to decline without time set aside for relaxation.

The ultimate goal is to achieve the so-called “complete” lifestyle. This involves equal parts of work and play, regular exercise, enjoying the outdoors, and a healthy diet. The challenge here is being able to balance the things that we must do with the things that we want to do. It’s all about time management, setting priorities, and it’s definitely not easy. But approaching it with this mindset is the first, and usually most difficult, step.

In the spirit of the living a complete lifestyle, Centrum Multivitamins has launched the Centrum Complete Getaways promo. The campaign aims to point out that every hardworking individual deserves an equally relaxing reward.

Ab-Zorb-ing: When in Boracay for a different kind of adventure, ride the Zorb! Get strapped in, roll down a hill, and find out how it feels to be inside a giant, crazy hamster-ball.

Simply dropping 12 empty Centrum foil packs (official receipts are also okay) in an envelope with your contact details in designated drop boxes offers the chance of a dream getaway for two. Unwind with Mickey and Minnie at Hong Kong Disneyland; feel the Revenge of the Mummy at Universal Studios, Singapore; snorkel and see the beauty of our local reefs in Palawan; and party hard in either Boracay or Cebu. What’s also cool is that, since the “complete” tagline is the key element here, winners are fetched from their homes, given some pocket money, have free meals at any given destination, and are brought home to their doorstep when they get back. You could be the lucky winner of one of these trips. And it might just be what you need to kick start the complete lifestyle attitude.

Centrum Multivitamins is well known for its tagline “Complete from A to Zinc.” It’s a tablet that has the recommended daily dose of all the vitamins you need, and then some. It’s no wonder the brand chose celebrated actor, producer, singer, and model Piolo Pascual to endorse their product. A true example of success by living the complete lifestyle, Piolo emphasizes that relaxation plays a very big part in his life. “It has to be written in my contract that I have a total of two months off from work,” he says. He uses this time to catch up with family abroad, to travel to new destinations, and to go scuba diving, another one of his passions and an activity that is readily enjoyed in our country.

“I really set time aside for doing things like exercise and travel. It’s hard to maintain a lifestyle that’s just all about work. Also, it’s really about finding your passions and what you’re good at, and capitalizing on those,” he continues.

For a guy who embodies the complete lifestyle, Piolo has surely found his groove when it comes to balancing work with leisure. And he will tell you that it wasn’t easy achieving this. For people who haven’t started living a balanced life yet, it’s not too late. Maybe all you need is a complete getaway.

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Centrum Complete Getaways promo runs until June 15. Winners may claim their prize/s until December 15, 2011. The consolation prizes also include Cebu Pacific gift certificates.

For more information, visit www.centrum.com or Centrum Multi-ME on Facebook.

E-mail me at mailto:enricomiguelsubido@gmail.com.