Do it right now. Breathe in. Breathe into your belly and your whole rib cage. Breathe deeper. Hold it. One, two, three, four. Exhale really slowly, as if through a straw.
Ahhhhh.
Feel good? Settle into it. Revel in it.
Do it again. This time, reach your arms overhead. When you exhale slowly lower your arms.
Roll your shoulders forward. Then backward. Slowly roll your head in circles. One direction, then the other.
Wiggle your hips. That’s right, loosen up. Hike up one hip and then the other. How about some hip circles? How about elbow circles and then some wrists. Now try some knee circles and then ankles.
That took about one and a half minutes. One sweet moment away from the messy thing we call the grind. Exercise recovery experts say it takes 90 seconds for our cells to replenish the energy they need to be powerful again. Your brain is no different, but boy is it hard to chill and allow that time to pass.
We have become hard-wired to seek meaning in life from how productive we are. Doing nothing, or resting doesn’t feed that immediate reward center that says, “Way to go! You did that!” Stopping to smell the roses seems indulgent. As a nation of busy bees, not feeling productive feels like a loss or, worse, awakens the dreaded guilt monster.
We’ve forgotten that rest is an essential ingredient in the pacing of life. Rest is like putting money in the bank that you don’t spend until much later.
The fact is, you can’t sprint forever. You run out of gas. It’s called a sprint for a reason. The word comes from an old English term “sprenten,” meaning “to leap” or “to spring”. Imagine a coil. It has to be wound to spring up. You are no different. You have to recoil to leap. It’s part of life’s rhythm and if we really think about it, it’s our duty to recharge.
Harvard Business Review compiled over 80 studies on productivity and found that breaks are non-negotiable when it comes to performance. They found shorter breaks are best in the morning, and longer ones are better as the day goes on and we run out of steam.
It doesn’t take long. All you need is:
A snack
A stretch
A gaze
A stroll
A laugh
A deep breath
A sunbeam
A shared moment with a buddy
The list is endless, the world is yours. Most importantly, soak it up as you would any essential part of your job. Let it wash over you so you’ll be ready and eager to leap ahead.
We’ll see you on the PATH Ahead.