The importance of rest

There is no doubt about it - rest is not valued in our society. While, in some quarters, I’m prepared to believe we are improving, I still believe that we do not value rest nearly as much as we should.

And I feel qualified to talk about this topic! From the point of view of someone who used to regularly collapse and had to learn how to walk again, after years of chronic ill health, but also from the point of view of the organisations in which I work, and the people who I help. The science of our nervous system, our learning systems, our capacity for growth and happiness, does not line up with the continued thrust for “always on”, task oriented madness, that is still so much a feature of our lives in western society.

When I completed my MSc in Occupational Psychology over 20 years ago, we were actively taught how to support organisations to “ get the most from their people”. Line up their strengths with the organisation’s strategy. Build cultures where performance was key. Write policies that drove the organisation forward, seemingly at all costs. And this was what we “knew” then. But as with all evolving humans, as I know better, I seek to do better! And while I am still involved in supporting organisations to improve their bottom line, I no longer do this “at all costs”.

Nowadays we understand that our nervous systems are not designed to be always on. We understand the value and necessity of rest and recuperation. Of befriending our nervous sytems so that we have more glimmers - more of what allows us to feel calm and in line, and less triggers - less of what takes us away from our centre, away from our capacity for homestatis, of seeing possibilities and feeling connections. What constitutes triggers and glimmers for us all are deeply personal, but what is certain is that they are a feature of life. All lives. And if we want to be healthy, and productive and well, then we need to step away from the always on, and more into a life of curated ease, with deep pockets for rest.

That is not to say we won’t be productive, useful, bright. But rather it is to bring ourselves more into balance. My work points again and again to the need for self-connection. For designing our own lives, thoughtfully and with a sense of fun and balance in mind. As someone who has been run into the ground, and come back, I can promise you, it is far easier not to get so low in the first place.

The key? Rest. Populated among the busy, full, charged moments. Take the rest. Luxuriate in it. Welcome it in.

The irony? You will be far more productive and effective on the other side of it!