Rest, Review, and Re-engage for a More Resilient, Successful and Happier You!

We’re halfway through February, right in the middle of winter, when many of us would rather be hibernating under a blanket with a bag of M & M’s binging season four of True Detective (it’s soooo good!!) than being productive. ?

Don’t get me wrong, I want to be productive, I’m just not always sure of the direction, especially when options and ideas (should I start another book, create an online program, re-purpose some content) threaten to stall me by sheer force of numbers.

That’s why it’s essential, regardless of your profession or area of expertise, to take advantage of three more R’s to build resilience: Rest, Review, and Re-engage.

Rest: Recharge Your Resilience Battery

Have you ever felt like a slacker when you’re not actively “doing something” to be productive? Somehow, we’ve come to view rest as being lazy instead of as an opportunity to recharge our superhero powers. Rest offers health benefits both physical and mental, especially if you can give yourself a break from stressful projects and decisions. Rest needn’t just mean sleep. Putting a challenge on a shelf for a limited amount of time—giving your mind a rest from it—can provide clarity and direction to refocus.

When you don’t know what to do, sometimes doing nothing is exactly what’s called for. Resting your conscious mind gives your resilient unconscious a chance to get to work. Give yourself a rest and see what your rested mind brings to you as new ideas, pathways, or solutions.

Review: What Works, What Doesn’t

Did you ever have a great idea, passion project, or “sure thing” that just isn’t working? It’s so hard to let go of the things we love and believe in. Yet sometimes, that’s exactly what we have to do. Resilience requires taking a hard look at your efforts, time and return on the investment of both. What’s working? More important, what isn’t? What are your goals with your professional and personal lives? Are you happy? What do you really want?

Author, keynote speaker and business strategist Fran Hauser shares some thoughts on how to review past successes (and not successes), in?Embrace the Work, Love Your Career, a workbook to guide you through realizing career goals with “clarity, intention and confidence.” Fran also suggests that we look at our calendars from the past several months to “see what put a smile on your face. What about those experiences can you do more of?”

By looking back through our calendars and intentionally evaluating our experiences, we can get a sense of what makes us happy, as well as where we shine. Too often, we treat life as a list of things we have to “get done,” checking things off and then filing them away, rarely to be thought of as anything other than finished. But when we take the time to look at our experiences and what about them fueled–or didn’t–us, we can get a sense of where we should be putting our efforts to get the most out of life–and out of ourselves. (Tune in to hear more from Fran on?episode 116 of the Brilliantly Resilient podcast.?)

Re-engage: Take a Dip or a Plunge—Your Call!

Once you’ve given yourself some rest and done a review of what works and what doesn’t, it’s time to re-engage. But hold on—re-engagement doesn’t mean jumping back in with both feet. Sometimes, it’s okay to just dip a toe into your project pool, especially if you’ve decided something wasn’t working to your expectations. It’s also acceptable to do nothing; often, retreat will allow other forces to unknot problems without too much angst and effort from you.

If something didn’t go according to plan, it’s also fine to move ahead with caution. Even if your new “let’s slow this train down” approach doesn’t work for everyone, it’s better than barreling full speed ahead and trying to put on the brakes when you can’t find them.

Yet, there are reasons to plunge in—with enthusiasm and energy. A change of direction, new client, new product—anything that can re-energize your business or personal life is well worth exploring, if you proceed with intention and managed expectations. Strategic effort is great, provided you aren’t married to an outcome. (Seriously, when’s the last time everything went according to plan?) Plus, resilience means we keep on keeping on even if we get derailed. If you’re excited and want to take the leap, do it. New experiences always bring new energy, pathways, and opportunities to learn and grow.

Being constantly busy isn’t the key to success. It’s only when we rest, review and intentionally re-engage that we not only build resilience, but take steps on the road towards professional and personal fulfillment.

Mary Fran Bontempo is an award-winning 2-time TEDx and Keynote speaker, workshop presenter, author, humorist and media host who teaches audiences to uncover their Brilliance and Resilience 15 minutes at a time. A sought-after speaker for ERGs, BRGs, DEI, conference and association events, Mary Fran is author of The 15 Minute Master, Brilliantly Resilient and The Woman’s Book of Dirty Words and co-founder of the life-changing program Brilliantly Resilient.?To bring Mary Fran to your company or organization, contact here.