REGENERATION FOR LIFE
Two weeks ago we discussed the need for regeneration or recovery after our workouts to allow the body to heal and repair. This recovery time allows us to reap the benefits of all the hard work we put into our workouts
What we did not talk about was recovery from all the other things that occur in our lives. Work, family, friends, community all take a share of the time we have each day. In our world today we fill our schedules so full that there is very little time to relax and recharge. Even if we do take time off we still have our cell phones and computers just in case.
Each week we need a minimum of a 24 hour time period with no work…I bet there are a bunch of us who can’t go 12 hours without doing some kind of work. Even if we love our job there is still stress and our body needs time away to properly reset. Too much stress of any kind leads to fatique and decreased efficiency…no matter how much we love our job or get off on the excitement. Being there every day is stress.
The same can be said for family, friends and community work. We Need a Break…all of us would see better relationships if we found more balance and down time in our schedules. Sometimes it is more important to say “NO” so that we have the energy to do our best. Balance means that we don’t have to rush, that we have the time to lie in the grass and discuss what shapes the passing clouds create, we make time to listen to the stream, to read a book just for the pleasure, to listen and talk to each other. Our children need time away from us and we need time away from our children. Our children need to see that we have other interests and passions…it helps them to grow and find themselves.
Our children need the most recovery time…they require unstructured, unsupervised play to grow and mature properly. Yes unstructured and unsupervised…the more the better and our children fall way short…we have them into so many programs we run them from place to place. When was the last time your child spent an hour or more in their room by themselves playing or outdoors with a couple of friends in the park or amongst the many treed areas we have in our city.
We all need to take a collective breath…to stop…to recharge…to enjoy what we have. How can we/you take the initiative to plan the down time for you and your family.
