Last week I attended a Growth Summit and connected with one of my good friends who has run a 200-mile race. I have always been in awe of her ability to run that race – the physical endurance required seems virtually inhuman. The even more challenging part of training she told me was the mental training. Then in the context of both physical and mental growth she shared the following formula.
Stress + Rest = Performance
The formula likely looks familiar. This is a commonly followed pattern to build muscles. Where I had not applied this formula before is to mental strength. Let me share a single example of a mental strength or capability that hit home for me through the lens of this formula.
At work I am expected to create clarity around goals and priorities of leadership development at Microsoft. I recently moved and as a result have home improvement projects, I need to create clarity around goals and outcomes with these projects with the various individuals I am working with. At home I view my role (as co-equals with my wife) as one to create clarity around what it means to be a Nicholls and what the culture of our family will look like. In my church service I need to create clarity in why we spend time together and what we are trying to accomplish with the youth that I work with. There are more areas of my life in which I need to “create clarity”.
I’m constantly running from work, to home, to family, to church, and back again without resting this muscle of creating clarity. Rest is different for a mental muscle. Rest is reflection and improvements in how things are done. I may take time off from work but this time off is not rest – it is time not doing work. Rather than reflect on how I’m showing up and how I can improve I move on to the next role in my life that needs my attention. I am working the same mental muscles without appropriate reflection. I am not achieving true performance because I am not resting.
I invite you to take 2-3 minutes today to do a self-evaluation. Your prompt is “In what ways am I taking time to reflect and improve upon my mental strength?”
If you are feeling inspired and have more time, write down 1-2 things you will do to give yourself more space for reflection and learning. It doesn’t have to take a lot of time but is necessary if you want true performance and to become the best person you can become.
