Let me start this by saying that I am an advocate of hard work. I believe that many of us have a lot more in us than we are using. We fall victim to distraction. Life, however, is about more than just hustling. Going from activity to activity. That can be working, volunteering or even social appointments. We must make time for the ‘3 Rs’. Those, as stated above are rest, recovery and reflection. These are quite different than doom scrolling for several hours or binge watching a series on Netflix. Let us take a little bit of a dive.
In the ‘hustle culture’, taking a break is considered a fault. That is more to what we do on those breaks. When you work, you should be focused on work. When you rest, the focus should be on resting. It is that last part that has many of us fooled. Resting is not the same as being distracted. When you stop cleaning the house to binge watch television, your brain, and the rest of you, do not get a break. That is why you can end up feeling even more drained after the 1 episode that turned into 8 than you were when you first turned on the television. We need to make sure our brain has a chance to power down for a bit. It is possible. Trust me, at my day job there are people who operate in this mode an entire day. In all seriousness, giving your brain nothing to focus on for a while allows it to refresh. That will save you from burnout.
Recovery is another very important aspect of life. One I suffer from neglecting if we are being honest. You want to get something done. Maybe it is getting in shape or that yard work you have been putting off. Your body is getting tired and maybe a little sore. You must take some time to let it heal as well. As the cliche goes, “If you do not take time for wellness, you will have to make time for illness.” Letting your body and your mind recover from the trauma and hard work you put them through is important. You do not want either to break down. The same can be said for our spirit. Often we are so busy distracting ourselves with social media, television and every other distraction at our disposal, that we cannot understand why we wake up feeling sad or depressed one day. Your spirit needs time to recover. Especially in an age filled with negative influences around every corner.
Last is reflection. You may not think sitting and thinking, or even just pondering, is productive, but I am here to assure you of the opposite. It is in this action that new and good ideas come to us. If we are constantly feeding ourselves information, we are never creating, we are just consuming. Take some time to let your mind put all of those great ideas together and come up with something uniquely you.
In a hustle world, the 3 Rs are not an option to use when you have time. They are necessary to maintain progress. In many cases, ignoring them is what is keeping you stuck. Do not settle for distraction. Instead, have focused rest, recovery and reflection.
