When it comes to the physical body, the strategies for how to achieve and maintain optimal performance are fairly established.
We know we need periods of intense activity, paired with periods of rest, and adequate nourishment.
Somehow, this common knowledge goes out the window when it comes to other parts of our lives, including our creative and cognitive fitness and emotional fitness.
Let’s take a simple example of a bicep curl: you hold a dumbbell in your hand and contract your bicep to curl the weight toward your shoulder. Then you slowly lower the weight back to the start.
The bicep curls is not the part where you get stronger.
Lifting weights will stress the muscle and tear its fibers, which weakens the muscles.
The muscle grows — and strengthens —as it repairs itself.
The “work” of getting stronger happens in the period of rest that occurs after you finish your lifting session.
What’s true in the physical body is also true for the mind, emotions, and spirit.
To be at our best in any realm of life, we must take a break from constant intensity and focus. We require periods of intense work followed by lighter periods as well as periods of rest.
Without periods of rest, nothing we do is sustainable, especially not at the high levels that we aspire to maintain.
“Doing nothing” is where the work of growth happens.
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