The Importance of Rest and Renewal
By: Chris W. Bell, Director of Interactive Learning-Leadership Connection
“Leadership is managing energy in yourself first — then inspiring others to take action to improve their lives.”
If you aspire to inspire, you must first learn how to manage yourself. Self-management, like any exercise, has two distinct parts: work and rest. Both are important in learning how to lead. You need to know how to get things done because you can’t be a competent leader unless you have competence in your chosen area. Also, if you don’t know how to rest, you’ll burn out and not have the energy to see things through the long haul. Remember that leadership is a marathon and not a sprint. Knowing how to renew and grow your energy will help you better serve others and ultimately lead them.
I bet you never thought you would ever need to read an article on how to rest. That’s supposed to come naturally, right? Most people never rest appropriately and consequently, they wonder why they don’t have the energy to do the things they tell themselves they want to or should do. If you want to be your best and do your best, honor the four components of yourself as a whole person: the physical, the mental, the social/emotional and the spiritual.
Physical:
- The food you put in your body is the fuel for everything else that you do. If you put low grade fuel in a car, you get knocks and misfiring. If you put low grade fuel in yourself, don’t expect anything better. Do you give your body the fuel it needs on a daily basis?
- The body has to be taken care of. Adequate exercise not only keeps the body in shape, it provides energy and stamina and lowers stress levels. During exercise endorphins are released into the bloodstream and can even fight depression.
Mental:
- Feeding your mind new information is just as important as feeding your body with nutritious food. The average American hasn’t read a non-fiction book since high school or college. Reading builds your own knowledge and boosts your creative abilities. Because you cannot give from an empty well, make a plan to grow your storehouses. With information so easy to come by with online resources, colleges and universities, and libraries, there is no excuse to stop feeding your mind.
Social/Emotional:
- Man was not meant to be a solitary creature. Socializing helps us nurture the intrinsic needs within all of us to belong and to love and be loved. To fill those needs within you, surround yourself with people who are pleasant to be around and who nurture you. Join a book club or a service organization that allows you to come together and serve others’ needs. I’ve always been surprised by how much energy I have after doing volunteer work. The great paradox of giving is that the more of yourself you give away, the greater your capacity to give becomes.
Spiritual:
- Taking time to look inward is one of the most important things a leader can do. Intuition is a powerful tool, and it must be nurtured through study and meditation. Leaders understand that to lead others we connect with what is alive in them. The root of our humanity connects us all and is the part that is capable of being inspired. To nurture your spiritual self: attend the service of your faith, meditate on the source of inspiration, clarify your own values and read the works of visionaries like Ghandi or Martin Luther King.
Nurture the four parts of your nature on a daily, or at least weekly basis. The more you can attend to those needs within yourself, the more energy you will have to do the other work leadership requires.
Copyright 2010 Leadership Connection. All rights reserved.