Back in 2022, Suneel Gupta shared insight with the SNP team about how we can cultivate resilience through rest. Now that we’re all dealing with a lot of uncertainty, those moments of rest become even more important to perseverance. Here’s what we learned, so you can cultivate resilience through rest too.
1. THE FORMULA FOR SUCCESS AND THE FORMULA FOR BURNOUT LOOK THE SAME.
For most people, especially in the workplace, success is defined by grit and hustle. But in having grit and hustle, we can also end up always being on, doing whatever it takes to hit a milestone, and working around the clock to our own detriment. When too much hustle turns into burnout, it puts us and our clients or coworkers in a tricky spot.
We have to take a balanced approach to achieve success. As a society right now, we’re realizing that we don’t want to choose between health and work. We can find a way to do both––the key is taking breaks.
2. VACATIONS ARE A BAND-AID SOLUTION TO BURNOUT.
Society relies on the idea of vacations as the cure for burnout. The vast majority of people who take sizable vacations will feel more stressed the week after a vacation than one week before. Vacations are a weak tool for preventing and solving burnout because they require a lot of work to make happen and they’re temporary. Healing burnout comes down to consistency and time.
3. PRIORITIZE RHYTHMIC RECOVERY.
Faculty at Harvard Medical School found in their research that high performers didn’t wait for long breaks or vacations in order to take recoveries. They were taking breaks all the time and building recovery into their schedules––on average about eight breaks in a single day.
They came up with this rule: For every 55 minutes of work, take five minutes of rest.
You can do anything in those five minutes except look at your phone, work, or multitask. Some ideas include folding laundry, meditating, sipping a cup of tea, and doing nothing.
Reminder: What sounds simple is not always easy! Be rigorous around implementation. You may not see the short-term effects but you will definitely feel the long-term effects. People report feeling as much energy at the end of the day as they did at the beginning.
4. BUILD AWARENESS AROUND YOUR STRESS LEVELS AND LEAN ON THOSE AROUND YOU.
When we’re all just trying to get to the next task, to get through this one moment, it can be really easy to ignore stress and let it impact how we behave. Suneel shared a story with us that was something along the lines of…
I was shooting a television show in LA about well-being. It was my first time doing this. I woke up that morning of the first shoot very nervous and took steps to reduce my anxiety––ate a good breakfast, had a good workout, etc. When I got in the car to get to the studio I noticed that the driver was incredibly stressed out. By the time we got to the studio, we were both fried. I paused, realized I needed a minute to get to a better state, and said to the driver, “Before I get out of the car and take 5 minutes to meditate, is there any chance you would want to meditate with me?” The driver agreed and we meditated together. At the end, the driver gave me a huge hug. Just those five minutes helped us both reset.
Self-awareness, taking intentional pauses, and engaging those around you when feeling or seeing stress, can better help you cultivate resilience.
The Ability to Bounce Back
Stress management and resilience come down to our ability to bounce back in difficult situations. We can’t bounce back if we consistently neglect our physical, mental, and emotional well-being. So, create space and take consistent small breaks to set yourself up for success. (And remember––checking your phone is not a break. Put it away.)
Interested in helping your team cultivate resilience? Reach out to us via email at info@snpnet.com to learn more about our Resilience workshop.
