Training from a Place of Rest
Everyone needs rest. There are no exceptions. The difference between an elite, world-class athlete and the rest of the general population is the world class rest intentionally. They schedule it into each day and into their training regimens.
When we rest, our bodies heal, memories are consolidated, needed chemicals are replaced in our brains, and the words we've been telling ourselves seep into the subconscious and unconscious parts of us, feeding our intuitive, body-mind wisdom. In rest, joy and enthusiasm are not just restored, they're expanded.
When we rest, we slow down. Our metabolism slows, our digestive system slows, our anxiety slows, our regrets begin to fall away, and our incessant compulsions to compare ourselves with others begin to wither. In addition, our desire to raise others increases. We become like the tide and naturally raise those around us.
When we rest, and when we feel rested, we're much more productive in terms of assessing where we are and visualizing where we want to be.
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All the above is just really great news for those of us who train hard. Active, intentional rest aids the body's ability to rise to the challenges we place before it. In fact, such rest leavens our training sessions. By resting well, we learn to carry "the restful mind" into our training. By operating from this restful mind, forcing things becomes less and less of an issue. The restful state frees us to focus much more on our training and not so much on beating those around us. Sure, world-class athletes are intensely competitive, but it's not so much against others—it's against themselves, against the best they can visualize themselves being.
The world class focus on their current performance as it relates to where they want to be. By training from such a place of rest, the world class live in to to what they "see" in terms of the vision they have for the exact kind of performer they dream of being.
Want to become a world-class performer? Make rest a critical element of your training routines. Become rest, and chase relentlessly after the person you want to be. Do this, and you'll do what 99% of the world's population is unwilling to do.
CU...
IKIGAI Weekly Blog Schedule (per The Training Trinity):
Mondays: Meditative Prayer
Wednesdays: Holistic Discipline
Fridays: Martial Arts Practice
