Every Monday, I share 1 question for you to contemplate, 1 idea from me, 1 quote from others, and 1 inspiration for us.
This week’s topic is: Recharging
Last week I took my car to the mechanic for a regular maintenance check. As I was sitting in the car watching the busy maintenance team working on the vehicle, checking all parts of the motor and performing all kind of tests, I considered how important it is to also perform routine checks on a personal level to ensure we are mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally in the top-running condition and fully recharged for the road in front of us.
One Question for you
The car battery is one of the most important components for a vehicle to run. You cannot move a car with a flat battery. Without rest one becomes like that car, however what drains or recharges each of us is highly personal.
Discuss the question here.
One Idea from me
Recharging is an area that I am continuously trying to develop and this week I am sharing three suggestions that have helped me in this journey so far:
Understand what’s draining your battery: To make “recharging” more successfully and sustained as a way of being it is important to get aware of energy-draining habits. This week I invite you to conduct a personal battery check and notice what activities, people, tasks, situations leave you exhausted and drained.
Choose the type of recharging that is right for you: No single “recharge” works for everyone and your solutions can vary from day to day. Researcher Dalton-Smith has identified seven types of rest that can help with maintaining or restoring your battery energy levels. They include: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social, sensory and creative rest. This week I invite you to identify if you are deficient in one (or more) of the seven types of rest and reflect on what type of rest feels most relevant to your current needs and try to incorporate it in your life.
Unplug to recharge: A great way to recharge your personal battery is to unplug from technology. Today technology is mostly accessed through cell phones, so this week I invite you to reflect on how you can cut down on your cell phone usage. If you are a phone addict like me, it can be very challenging to simply put down the phone and walk away. A great tip I came across recently is to put a hairband across your phone. When placed in the middle of the phone, the hairband allows users to answer phone calls easily, but makes other uses of the phone (such as texting or social media scrolling) more difficult. The hairband trick brings greater mindfulness to each specific use of it as every time you want to use your phone, it prompts you to think about your intention and nudges you away from unlocking your phone every two minutes just because…
One Quote from others
“Why do you press harder on a remote control when you know the battery is dead?” Steven Wright
One Inspiration for us
One practice I have been experimenting with recently is taking a power nap. This short period of sleep is a great way to recharge your personal energy battery. Timing and length of sleep are important factors when it comes to power naps. Check out this short clip where Sara C. Mednick offers a great overview of the stages of sleep included in a nap, outlines the cognitive benefits of napping and shares the optimal length and time of day for a quick siesta.
Another very insightful and thoughtful post! I think not overloading is the first place is key. This means not taking on too much, or if one is busy and important, being present enough to take advantage of "down" time (or creating it) instead of filling up the calendar with things that don't really matter. Regarding phones, I often choose not to take it with me. This isn't avoidance and it's not for long periods but a means of being able to enjoy or concentrate on what I am doing. Most of us don't have the phone ringer on during meetings etc so this can be done at other times.