The last year has been a chapter of consistent hustle against persistent challenges and disruption. But the narrative is a lot more than woeful tales of burnout and exhaustion. We’ve observed a lot of positive outcomes in 2022 – as clients, coaches, mentors and participants have reported developing new skills around responsiveness, resilience, agility and focus. We’ve also emerged with a new sense of compassion and an appreciation for connection in a way that didn’t exist before the pandemic.
As we fight for breath in the last few days of the working year, it’s worth taking stock of some of the momentous events that have affected us in 2022:
- In May Australians elected a new Federal Government with 10 Independents coming to power and the most diverse parliament in our history
- Russia invaded Ukraine
- Roe vs Wade was overturned in the US, meaning American women no longer have a Federal constitutional right to abortion
- The longest serving monarch in British history, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II passed away in September
- Within the span of three months, the UK has seen a total of three Prime Ministers
- Two-thirds of Australians are now regularly working from home as workplace cultures embrace flexibility and review the employee experience
- With our increased use of technology we’ve removed a lot of incidental social interactions from our lives, and some of us are lonelier for it
- Australia’s interest rates have increased six times
- We’ve nagivated the ‘great resignation‘
- We’ve learned about ‘quiet quitting‘
It’s no wonder we’re tired! We are newly skilled and in posession of a bunch of new pespectives but we are also understandably exhausted, with little left in the tank to feed back to our teams, organisations or even ourselves.
So as the end of year approaches, we’d like to remind you to celebrate the wins, reflect on what has been achieved despite the challenges and to celebrate all the gains we’ve made. And say that it’s never been more critical to REST.
Science tells us that rest aids and improves cognition, memory, response times and comprehension. Coaches of athletes know that physically speaking, gains and adaptation only happen in the body when it is resting. So hard workouts only have physical benefit if you incorporate rest days. The same is true in a work context. Rest is known to lower blood pressure, improve focus and mood, reduce levels of frustration, alleviate muscle tension and physical pain, control blood sugar levels and improve memory.
It’s a reset for overall wellness and recovery but also a powerful tool for performance.
Importantly, rest also makes space for reflection, and the two work hand in hand to benefit us. If you’re thinking about avenues to improve performance in the future, then incorporating rest should be top of mind. We can benefit ourselves and our teams through
- building rest breaks into our days, weeks and yearly calendars
- exercising
- practicing mindfulness
- setting healthy boundaries
- having and practicing a hobby
So this summer, we hope you have an opportunity to reap the benefits of rest and accelerate the gains by taking a break with friends and family.
(December 2022)
