“Every now and then, go away. Have a little relaxation. For when you come back to your work, your judgment will be surer, since to remain constantly at work will cause you to lose the power of judgment……go some distance away because then the work appears smaller and a lack of harmony or proportion is more readily seen.”
Guess who spoke these words? The partner of a frantically busy workaholic? A doctor? Your mother? Wrong! It was Leonardo da Vinci.
Several hundred years doesn’t seem to make much difference to wisdom!
Recall the last really good break you had from work, a terrific holiday where you rested, really relaxed and unwound. You laughed and felt energized and fantastic when you returned to work and home. How was your performance afterwards? How did you handle stress, difficult people and awkward situations?
How was your personal relationship when you returned? Did you realize that your partner had undergone a personality transplant! They had become human, more loving and you remembered why you were in love with them?
Funny how the idiots at work seemed to be less in number or to have undergone a personality transplant as well! And that things at work had settled and work was more enjoyable; there was more flow and less struggle; it was easier to get things done.
What is the common denominator here? You of course! If we do relax, and ‘go some distance away’, we have a chance to restore our sense of perspective. Small issues remain small and manageable. We are able to maintain our integrity and keep breathing under pressure. Our ability to relate to others is enhanced and we are more flexible and creative in our approach to people and situations.
However, we seem to forget this renewed capability as the year and volume of work progress. We naturally think we are always performing at our best and it’s only when we take a significant break that we see the true situation clearly.
I know many people will see this as a blinding flash of the obvious, and that it’s just common sense. If that’s the case why are so many people struggling, exhausted, stressed and burnt out? Because we forget how important it is to have a long (2 weeks at least; 3 weeks is better!) holiday or break from the daily grind. And to have short breaks on a regular basis throughout the year.
If considering the implications of this concept hasn’t convinced you to rethink your current plans, ask yourself this. How many times have you managed to work all year, long hours, weekends, days, nights for 12 months and not been ill; then you have gone on holidays. What happens? You get sick! And usually recover just in time to return to work.
We can fool our minds but we can’t fool our bodies. They store our stress. Our minds tell us we are just fine; we are coping well with the daily stresses and strains. As soon as we take a break, our body breathes a sigh of relief and says (metaphorically of course!) ‘whew, now we have time to be sick!’. So, our back ‘goes’; we catch flu; our allergies play up ; we have gastritis, etc. We need to take mini stress buster breaks throughout the year.
Or worse, what about the people who brag about not having taken a holiday for 2 or 3 years? They are just too busy, too important or too essential to take time off work. How can they be performing well, either at home or work?
This applies to any situation, not just work. For example, if we are carers for someone old or infirmed or ill, we must have some respite to restore the energy and enthusiasm we need to genuinely care for them. Or perhaps even from our relationships.
Bernie Seigal author of a fastastic book called ‘Love, Medicine and Miracles” suggested we should ‘burn up, not out’! Burning up means our candle is lit and it burns all the way to the bottom and then it snuffs out. Burning out means our candle is lit and snuffs it half way down! Before we are ready.
You’ll burn up, not out, if you realize the importance of Leonardo’s words, “every now and then go away”!
