When I hear the word resilience, I typically think of attributes like stamina, strength, and grit. I also envision the ability to endure external blows. Not just physical blows, but psychological and emotional blows too. For me it’s as if a resilient person possesses a kind of magical spiritual exo-skeleton.
A few years ago, I underwent some unofficial resilience training. It involved hiking 500 miles with a backpack in 25 days. Qualities like positive attitude, acceptance of pain, and endurance were, of course, essential. But one of the most surprising lessons was this: Rest is critical to resilience.
After day 3 of the trek, fatigue left me doubtful I could trek another 20 miles on the following day. However, the utter exhaustion also meant an early bedtime - around 9:30 PM - something I have never had the discipline to do before. This meant roughly 8 hours of sleep that night and each night that followed. And though sore and achy every morning, miraculously, I found I had healed enough to rise up and press on into the next day’s long walk.
Before this journey, I’d read books that claimed 8 hours of sleep was needed in order to maintain peak-level contributions day after day. I confess I’d always been skeptical. But after this trek, I am a believer.
So the next time you feel a lack of resilience to handle what life is asking of you, consider taking more or higher quality rest rather than simply muscling through or giving yourself another pep talk about toughening up.
And remember rest can come in many forms. One of the best is, of course, sleep. But many times that is not enough to feel balanced. Slow walks, a gentle yoga practice, a bath, playing a card or board game with friends, or reading a good book - any of these simple actions can be deeply restorative. What restores your spirits?
I know in our fast paced world it can feel like we just need to keep doing more and more, but what happens to the quality of what we do, as well as our enjoyment of it, when our resilience is breaking down because we refuse to rest? Your contributions to the ones you love, and frankly to all of us, are too valuable to water down with weariness.
Take time to sleep, rest, and do those things that restore your mind and body.
We need you at your best.
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