We work hard, don’t we?

Forgive me, this is one blog that flits about a bit.
We put in a lot of time, effort and even finances to make things happen in our home life, our sport and our family. As parents or caregivers may also have a habit of putting ourselves dead last in the priority list of dishing out a bit of R & R.

This is a topic of discussion I have daily with the athletes I coach, about recovery.

Everyone’s capacity to rejuvenate varies. Based on age, genetics, gender, life situation, work, dependent children or other and of course what other activities they fit in their day.  That’s not even bringing nutrition into the game.

The recipe is actually quite simple.

• Invest your energy in anything that is part of your plan, do it to the best of your ability. Fatigue or Stress Response occurs.
• Recovery phase to allow mind and body to repair and rejuvenate physically and mentally.
• Adaptation or Supercompensation occurs when recovery is done right - this is where the dividends are paid out.

This formula is so simple. It can be applied to anything in life.

I think we all do pretty well with our INVESTMENT side of the deal.  Whether it’s small or large we get the gist of putting in to get back.

A lot of our investment also feels like we will never see a return, eg; bringing up children, putting the car in for a service or the weekly grocery shop.
Often the day in day out routine of a week feels like we will never get a chance to rest.

Leaving us with a feeling that we won’t have the opportunity or space to enjoy the rewards of our efforts.
Before we know it 12 months has passed and the year has ended pretty much the same as it has started.

We have moved along the scale of growth, but only because we continued to wake up each day, remain employed, not spend too much money and live a reasonably balanced life.

This is the COMFORT zone.
This is where dreams remain just that.
Nothing hurts too bad, nothing is too stressful and the gains are safe.

To make gains, as I tell my athletes there are a few simple steps you must take.

“If you want something you have never had, you must be willing to do something you have never done”

When you break this quote down it looks like this:

1. Want or Desire for change
2. Dream or Vision
3. Devise Action Plan
4. Take a Leap, Risk
5. Get outside your comfort zone

So going back to RECOVERY, what does leaving my comfort zone have to do with this?

Well, it’s part of the grand plan.

Albert Einstein’s quote, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.”

Stop reading.
Think. Be honest. 
Do you have any idea what you want out of today?
This week? This month? This year?

Because if you don’t then it might just change your outlook if you knew why you were working so hard.  Then you would know that you need that recovery time for all your investment to gather interest so you could return with gusto and continue to be enthusiastic and grow and adapt.

I cannot tell anyone how to live their life or how to strive for their goals, but I can definitely appreciate the challenges we all face in the conflicting pressures on our energy, on our path we wish to take. 

Heck, my days have changed enormously in this past year.

With COVID-19, my husband works at home full time alongside me in our tiny 2 bedroom unit, we have changed our dining room into a home office and eat our meals exclusively on our couch.

We have our grandson Finley Wednesday nights for 24 hours, and as enriching as it is, his need for our attention is exhausting by the end, as we continue to attempt to juggle our work with grandparenting at home.

Norm and I have attempted to plan 3 separate times to take a holiday, but early in the year, we had bushfires where we were going. Then there was the COVID - 19, Stage 3 restrictions. Our most recent plan has also been altered as we go back to these restrictions again in Victoria.

2020 absolutely feels like its all work and no play.

Living, working and training exclusively at home certainly is one of the greatest challenges in finding balance.

I am writing a book, 20,000 words into it, my creative time seems to be in conflict every moment of the day, so I have taken to getting up at 4:00 am to avail myself to uninterrupted flow.

Next week I start a Ba of Arts in Psychology, with only 2 units to do this next Trimester, however more impact on time.

Of course, there is also my mainstay, coaching my athletes and helping them to adapt to our ever-changing environment, with races being cancelled or numbers capped, and just keeping these people enjoying themselves in the process.

I also have some work to do in completing my Level 2 coaching course, the typical “post-course” workbook to demonstrate my understanding of the course.
Plus my own athletic goals, which have changed dramatically this year with no events to strive for.  

What do I want from this year?

What can I gain control of and turn into a positive?

What changes can I make for myself to enjoy this period we are going through?

Where can I take my business and still provide value for my clients?

How can I work from home and find space to be creative yet space to relax and recover?

Are there things I can focus on now, whilst the world is in limbo, that will allow me to prepare for my future and make the most of this time?

And if my holiday options are limited, what will ‘time out’ look like and how can I maximise the impact of this so I can come back with more energy?

Let me return to the subject of RECOVERY.
Right now, the whole world is trying to recover.

Yet as you can see and appreciate, recovery is not a stand-alone feature.

It needs to work concurrently with growth, with investment and planning for the future, but it also needs the same weighting as what is given to the areas that are often considered more important. 

If we don’t do recovery right, our economy may appear on the mend, but we have left our people behind.  Our own health and wellbeing, especially in these times, is so very important.

• Planning.
• Growth.
• Change.
• Adapting.
• Reviewing.
• Recovery.

Take the time in the second half of this year to truly assess, where are you headed?

Even amongst the uncertainty of what the future is going to look like, we can still have a plan.

And in that plan, be sure to invest in YOU and start embracing (if you don’t already) the ‘adaptation - recovery’ process, this is the biggest return on investment you can give yourself.

and be more cat like...