The Stress - Rest Balance

Today, when considering balance, I’m ruminating on tool maintenance; and in particular, on the sharpening of saws.  My rumination derives from one of my favorite allegories from one of my favorite books: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, and of how I recently let my own tool maintenance go.

So here’s the Covey allegory that has my attention:

            Suppose you were to come upon someone in the woods working feverishly to saw down a tree.

            “What are you doing?” you ask.

            “Can’t you see?”  Comes the inpatient reply.  “I’m sawing down this tree.”

            “You look exhausted!” you exclaim.  “How long have you been at it?”

            “Over five hours,” he returns, “and I’m beat!  This is hard work.”

            “Well, why don’t you take a break for a few minutes and sharpen that saw?” you inquire.  “I’m sure it would go a lot faster.”

            “I don’t have time to sharpen the saw,” the man says emphatically.  “I’m too busy sawing!”

Recently, some traction-less peddling helped me to see that my saw had. in fact. lost its edge.  And instead of working to regain balance by taking a break and sharpening, I pressed toward yet another deadline without regard for my effectiveness.

So, here’s what I know about balance from the world of fitness conditioning.  For muscles to develop, we must stress them.  That stress results in micro tears that, through their healing, increase strength by adding new fiber.  While the stress is critical to the muscle development and strength, equally important is the rest phase.  And we come back stronger and more capable of executing certain tasks at a higher level after the break.  This is the balance of “sharpening the saw” physically.

Likewise, science has shown that brain neurons become more resistant to diseases like epilepsy, migraines, and even dementia when stressed and then allowed a period of rest.  

It’s truly stress/rest balance -- whether of the body or the mind.

So how sharp is your saw and what’s your plan for maintaining your edge?

Here are a few suggestions:

EXERCISE.  This one is my personal favorite.  I usually find if folks can push through that feeling of being too tired to exercise that they come back feeling refreshed and renewed.  And besides “research strongly supports the idea that cardiovascular exercise significantly improves cognitive health as well as learning and memory.” (APA)

MEDITATION.  Just the word meditation often scares people away because they think they can’t meditate.  Most people I find who have this perception have tried only one type of meditation – and found it too challenging (often transcendental).  Here are a few others to try:

• Guided meditation. Sometimes called guided imagery or visualization -- you form mental images of places or situations you find relaxing, often working with a teacher or coach.

• Mantra meditation. In this type of meditation, you silently repeat a calming word, thought or phrase to prevent distracting thoughts.  It can be as simple as, “Breathe, focus, smile.”

• Mindfulness meditation. You can do a mindful meditation any time and anywhere by simply taking a pause and becoming fully aware of what you are doing – eating, exercising, walking or playing with your kids.

• Yoga.  There’s hardly a strip mall in America that doesn’t include a yoga studio these days.  It’s accessible and in principle nonjudgmental (although I do notice a trend of what I call “Type A” yoga out there these day).  Yoga at its heart is about mindfulness and tranquility.

PLAY.  Yep, just what it sounds like.  Engage in what is play for you.  Something fun and distracting.  Consider this: Research conducted on rats found that following “bouts of rough-and-tumble play, rats show increased levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (Gordon et al 2003), which is essential for the growth and maintenance of brain cells.

All said and done, it’s a break for balance.  Plan for it.  Schedule it.  Do it on a regular basis.

If you call today and can’t find me, it may be because I’m out sharpening the saw.  I’ll be back – and better for it!

Breaks, they do a mind and body good.