Lessons from an Olympian: the Fun and Healthy Approach to Rest & Recovery
Rest and recover: Do you make these things a priority in your life? I’m still thinking about the summer Olympics. I know, I know, it’s October. But so many of the athletes’ stories—especially the female athletes—really touched my heart. And since I can’t get them out of my head, I’m going to keep writing about them.
One of the stories that has stuck with me is Tamyra Mensah-Stock’s. She is the first BIPOC woman to win gold in freestyle wrestling, and only the second American woman ever to win gold in that event.
I watched an interview she did after winning her gold medal. Before the sportscaster started asking her his questions, she gave him a heads-up – she said something like, “You know, I don’t watch a lot of television, so I’m not really familiar with how these interviews usually go.”
When the interview started, the sportscaster said something like, “You know, you told me that you don’t watch a lot of television, but our research showed that there is something that you really love.”
And they showed a clip of Tamyra in front of a karaoke machine in her hotel room, dancing and singing with a friend.
It was so sweet – they panned back to her and she was totally surprised because she didn’t realize they had that footage.
The interviewer said, “You brought a karaoke machine to the Olympics. That’s amazing.” And he asked her why she brought it.
Mensah-Stock’s response was something like, “Of course I brought a karaoke machine to the Olympics. What else am I going to do to release all the stress? And how am I going to fill the time between events?”
And I was so struck by how smart that was, because so many of us don’t know what to do with ourselves in order to release pressure.
We end up indulging in unhealthy habits, like overeating or watching too much Netflix or taking five-hour naps or shopping for things that we don’t need. We might even become irritated and yell at our friends or family.
But we don’t actually know how to create healthy outlets that help us recover in our downtime.
This young woman is so smart and self-aware for bringing a karaoke machine to the Olympics. It’s clear that she knows how to set healthy boundaries for herself.
Not only does she take downtime (boundary number one), but she also has rules for how she uses her downtime (boundary number two). She understands how to recover from the incredible amount of pressure she’s under as an Olympic athlete.
Setting and maintaining boundaries is so important to me that I’ve incorporated it into our upcoming virtual event, The Big Comeback (tickets are just $95 through tomorrow, October 21st, for my Gratitude Flash Sale – use promo code save400).
During this event, we’ll be completing a 14-step Certified Revenue Breakthrough Plan that will give you an accessible path to achieving your goals in 2022.
Step four of the 14-step plan is Creating a Boundaries Manifesto. Together, in our workbook for the event, we will take the time to create boundaries around work, rest, clients, time, play, and so on.
When we know that the dividers on our plates can handle whatever we spoon onto them, we can stop being so afraid of digging in.
That’s why Tamyra’s use of her downtime is such an important lesson for all of us to learn from.
For me, I’ve been spending much of my downtime studying all of the tarot cards. I love learning about tarot archetypes – so I’m taking it to another level. I also really enjoy art journaling, so I’ve been taking an eight-week art journaling class that meets every weekend.
If we don’t use our downtime intentionally, the habits and activities we gravitate towards can be negative or unhealthy. Our choices become unintentional.
We end up wasting time perusing social media or watching cat videos (not that I know anything about that!) when what we really need is a restful and fun activity.
So my invitation to you this week is to determine what specific activities you do to rest and rally your nervous system. How do you release pressure? What’s your karaoke machine?
Whatever it is, invite more of it into your life this week. Releasing pressure opens up the channels in your mind – and those open channels lead to much more inspiration, much more creativity, and much more innovation.
When you find your karaoke machine, you can recover and emerge ready to reach new heights in your business.
