2 Secrets Of A Good Rest - Self-development

I propose to start the conversation about good rest with the term. Meet dissipation. It sounds scary, but now you will understand everything. An open system is called dissipative, which is constantly exposed to various external influences, but still remains itself

The simplest example is a river. The year can be dry or rainy, the river can dry up or overflow its banks, but it still remains the same river. The river is fed by tributaries, it itself flows into some sea, the composition of the water is constantly renewed, but the river continues to be a river.

Destruction and creation

You probably already guessed that a person is also a dissipative system. At the biological cellular level, this is especially noticeable. For example, the surface layer of the skin is completely renewed in about 30 days - old cells die and peel off, and new ones grow. For a long time, it was believed that nerve cells did not repair until neuroscientists discovered that neuroplasticity (the brain's ability to renew itself) also exists at the cellular level.

The dissipative nature of the human psyche was first noticed by Freud when he argued that our life is governed by two basic instincts - Eros and Thanatos (they are also libido and mortido). Eros is responsible for creation and development, and Thanatos is responsible for destruction and death. And each of our actions is a kind of vector that has arisen as a result of the addition of these two powerful forces in each specific situation. So it turns out that in practice we, on the one hand, sort of destroy ourselves, and on the other hand, we create.

What does this have to do with good rest? The most direct!

The main property of living systems (and humans are no exception) is activity. If we are not active, then we are dead

But any activity is an expenditure of energy. I emphasize - any activity! Even if you are just lying on the couch or sound asleep, this also requires energy expenditures in a certain sense. But if from one side of the dissipative system energy is constantly flowing out (but the system continues to exist), then from some other side it must be replenished!

The paradox of rest is that it is not "rest", but also activity, but aimed at restoring / replenishing our energy potential

Moreover, to solve this problem, we can use only a part of our activity, and the received energy should be enough for all our activity. Economists would call this a classic investment problem. This is a way of investing money, bringing in multiple profits over time (of course, the initial costs are covered).

The same story is with rest: we need to find such activity so that the time and energy spent on it would return to us with a multiple increase in efficiency.

And now the riddle is more complicated: on whose side is rest in the difficult relationship between Eros and Thanatos? Imagine that you are at work and are doing what you love. You are carried away, plunged into a "state of flow" and do not notice how time flies. You work as productively and constructively as possible - the real kingdom of Eros. But time flies, energy is wasted. As soon as we notice the first signs of fatigue, we have a choice of two options: a) continue to work; b) change activities.

If you choose the first option, fatigue will build up and turn into fatigue. Which accumulates and ignoring which we begin to destroy ourselves (hello, Thanatos!). If you choose the second option, the first thing to remember is the phrase attributed to IP Pavlov: "Rest is a change of activity." But is it? Will any change of activity be a good rest? (Full-fledged means successfully solving the "investment problem" for energy recovery.)

During the consultation, the client complains of chronic fatigue. Works as a programmer. When asked how he usually rests, he tells me that he is a blogger, an online game lover and a regular at several Internet discussion forums.

If you look closely, there is no “change in activity” here. Energy expenditures are of the same type - as he sat at the computer at work, he continues to sit at it in the evening.

Secret # 1. Reasonable Contrast

The first secret to a good rest is to change from activity to a contrasting type of activity, which is directly opposite to your energy expenditures at work.

• If the work is sedentary, office, a walk in nature will be a contrasting activity.
• If you have a lot of socializing at work, perhaps the best recreation would be to be alone with yourself somewhere in nature.
• If your workload is related to solving intellectual problems, the best rest will be some kind of "handicraft" hobby where you can "turn off your head."

In relation to rest, what was said above about work is true. Rest should not be excessive when we imperceptibly slip past the edge of fatigue and begin to get tired of the activity that we have chosen as a rest. It is especially easy not to notice this line during a vacation against the background of positive emotions. And then the rest develops into self-destruction …

But it is even worse when, initially, destructive activity for the body and psyche is chosen as leisure. The bored "office plankton" chooses some extreme hobby like night car racing as a change of activity. And representatives of extreme professions, instead of finding some quiet contemplative hobby, neutralize emotional stress with alcohol or drugs.

Secret # 2. Choose and Solve

The second secret to a good rest is to be conscious. Mindfulness refers to the careful selection of restorative activities. It shouldn't be destructive. Leisure needs to be carefully planned. There is a trick in time management called anti-scheduling. The bottom line is that we do not start planning our working hours with a to-do list. First of all, we book the best time for a good rest. This “guaranteed rest” significantly increases productivity, and its anticipation creates additional motivation.

Another important aspect of conscious leisure can be formulated as follows: "Rest is our decision about rest." It is about emotional self-attitude, about giving oneself permission to rest. Indeed, it often happens that, even despite the correctly chosen activity for rest, a person is not really present in this process - his head is busy with work problems. Therefore, it is extremely important to be able to "disconnect" from one activity and immerse yourself in a new one as much as possible.

Let's summarize

A quality rest is:

• when with the help of low energy consumption we create large reserves of energy;
• activity associated with creation, not destruction - while resting, we create a new experience that gives us pleasure, but does not destroy our body and psyche;
• timely switching to a new activity, the most contrasting with respect to the previous one.

Plan your vacation! And allow yourself to rest with benefit