Permission to Reset

When I reviewed my blog post from last year at this time, I had just finished my last long race of the year, and my physical therapist was coaching me that it was time to take a break from training. His point to me…you have to let your body rest.  It needs time to recover from the stress you put on it.  I admit…it was nice for someone to give me permission to not think about what kind of workout to do for a few days.

This year, instead of running my last long race of the year this weekend, I have COVID for the 2nd time this fall.  My body has told me…it's time to rest.

I know many or most of you are not runners, but this story is for all of us.  Are we taking the time to rest and recover? 

🪞Do you give yourself breaks during the work day - for lunch, to walk around, to jot down notes from meetings?

🪞Do you allow yourself to shut off at night and not focus on work after a certain time?

🪞Do you use your weekends to restore your energy?  I know that if you have kids, the weekends may seem even busier than the weekdays so this could be hard.

🪞Do you take vacations and allow yourself to relax?

If the answers to these questions are no or not usually, it's time to rethink your priorities.  Our minds and bodies need regular breaks for us to perform at our best. 

I was definitely not good at this during my corporate life and periodically still struggle with some of these today.  However, I know how important recovery is so I regularly check in with myself to see how I'm doing. 

If you need permission, here's your permission slip to:

✏️Take breaks during the day.

✏️Shut down work at a reasonable time.

✏️Prioritize sleep.

✏️Plan time off from work (and not full of a lot of activities unless those help you relax)

I know these may sound hard to do, but, I'll ask you to consider if your mind and body are worth it.  I would say they are since they serve as the fuel and the vehicle required to perform the way we want in life. 

For those of you with time off for the US holiday next week, I encourage you to carve out some time for yourself.

If you want to start focusing on aligning your priorities to the way you want to live your life, let's talk soon.