We live in a culture of MORE: do more, be more, have more, and earn more. Tips on how to be more productive and accomplish more in a day sell so many books and grab our attention to click on a whole lot of links. We seem to have a collective resistance to slowing down, and God forbid, stopping, as we fear we will be left behind. But the truth is, as so many experts have concluded, rest is essential to our well being and our long term success. And frantic busyness without good planning and goal setting can leave us burned out. So in today’s post, I share with you an important equation for success, combining intentional activity that challenges us followed by time to step back for rest and reflection: STRESS + REST = GROWTH.
In his books, Peak Performance and The Passion Paradox, Brad Stulberg examines the relationship between hard work and rest. He follows the work of some of the world’s top performers in the areas of athletics, art, and business and finds a common pathway to continued development. Truly successful and happy people take on challenges that push them in a way that is exciting and also uncomfortable. Without the stress of the challenge they wouldn’t have the motivation to press themselves to see what more they are capable of. But after the stress, they step back to recuperate and reflect on what they have done. Most everyone finds it a delicate balance. Too much stress and you risk burnout, injury, or illness. Not enough stress and you get complacency and boredom.
Research shows that both the body and the brain respond to stress by becoming stronger. Choosing challenges that are just outside our current ability is optimal as we can apply ourselves and see progress. Sometimes we set a bar too high, and then we end up with frustration and fatigue as we feel too overwhelmed and see our efforts as failures. But then comes the part that takes real courage. Taking a break. Matt Dixon, coach of world class athletes writes, “Anyone can work their asses off. But it takes real courage to rest.” When you see everyone around you working hard and staying endlessly busy, it’s easy to feel you should be doing the same. But ultimately, stress without rest leads to burn out and break down. Physiologically, when we rest is when our bodies do repairative work. Both our brains and our bodies rebuild and strengthen when we rest and when we sleep. For our bodies, hormones such as testosterone and HGH are released when we rest. Our muscle fibers regrow and strengthen on our off-days of physical exertion. For our minds, when we give it time to wander, we can become more creative. Our subconscious has the freedom and space to come up with insights and interrelationships.
Ever wonder why your best ideas come when you are riding your bike or taking a shower? In fact, Lin Manuel Miranda, creator of the musical Hamilton, notes, “A good idea doesn’t come when you’re doing a million things. The good ideas come in the moment of rest…It comes when you’re doodling or playing trains with your son. It’s when your mind is on the other side of things.” Stepping away from your stress is important in order to get perspective as well. When we are too close to a problem we often can’t see the big picture and can get lost in a detail that ultimately holds us back or we stay loyal to a path that may be leading us away from our goal rather than closer to it. Rest is additive to stress in order to achieve growth.
People have such a hard time allowing themselves to rest because they associate it with doing nothing. I frequently find myself telling people, and myself, that “rest IS an activity.” In fact, good rest requires a lot of effort, to NOT look at your phone, NOT check your emails, and NOT just fit in that one task or errand. Good rest requires our full attention to ourselves in the moment and staying in the present. And so now when you feel guilty for resting you can think of the equation for growth, reminding yourself that while you are relaxing, indeed, you are actually very busy working hard to reach your goal!