Ready… Aim…
My mom had just had brain surgery, and the doctors had one strong recommendation for her. They told her, repeatedly, “You need to take regular breaks, or your brain will get worse.”
As a family, we were scared to speculate just how bad my mom’s official diagnosis was and so we sent all our energy into figuring out how to help her rest. We knew it would be difficult because my mom notoriously hated being still. But we thought with enough organizational skills, we could figure out a way to make her want to take her “brain breaks.”
After lots of resistance, my mom finally said, “I don’t want to take a break. That makes me sound broken.”
All these years later, I have to admit, I have too often seen breaks in the same way. I’ve told myself the lie, “Only broken people take breaks.” – and I don’t think I’m alone.
We all want to be seen as competent and capable. So, it is no wonder we resist taking breaks. We are probably protecting ourselves from being seen as broken.
And yet, like the wise advice of those doctors, without breaks, our brains perform worse.
So, what do we do about it?
For me, I needed to reframe what a break is. A break isn’t about stepping back because we couldn’t keep up. It’s something we do to because we want to show up. It’s about recalibrating so we can lock-in performance.
Think of it like when an archer steps up to the line, they take a moment to aim before they fire. A good break is a moment to take aim.
Here’s a quick way you can take aim- anytime, anywhere.
In my workshops and keynotes, I teach a 2-breath reset that helps first get our biology online and then can be used to help us aim for excellence.
Here’s how it works:
Breathe in for 4 counts
Hold for 6 counts
Breathe out for 8 counts.
And repeat.
Not bad, right? Here’s what’s happening. First, this gets physiology on your side by flushing out a little cortisol and resetting your parasympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic nervous system is the one that shuts off your fight or flight mode and reengages your brain for better focus. Trust me, you want it on your side.
But it shouldn’t stop there.
Now that you’ve got physiology on your side, your brain is ready to clearly assess how to do your next task at its best. But it will only happen if you’re intentional about it.
So next, try asking:
“Where will my effort make the biggest difference right now?”
If you want to consistently give your best without giving your all, you don’t need more effort. You need better aim.
You see, exhaustion isn’t proof of excellence. Precision is.
So, instead of seeing a break as breaking away or breaking down, look at is an opportunity to adjust your aim. Because we all want to produce work that is genuinely our best.
Thanks for reading with me. I hope you take some time to take aim this week and truly produce excellent work.
