Did you hear me scream when I dunked my head underwater in this oh, so icy-cold waterfall? It was beautiful, exhilarating, and so worth the sweaty hike on a crazy steep hillside!
Recharging, relaxing, and playing in nature
Three days in the national forest near Big Sur was just enough to forget a pandemic. That is, until we were looking for lunch in town on Father’s Day afternoon.
(That’s another story. The restaurant crowd scene had my Covid-19 Prude persona clutching her mask!)
Rest and play are key to sustainable leadership, whether you are leading yourself as an entrepreneur, or leading your team or family. Many, many women right now are so tired from juggling Work From Home and family and feeling the national tension around racial justice. Yes, activism without rest is a recipe for burn out.
What is play anyway?
Play expert Stuart Brown calls play “an absorbing, apparently purposeless activity that provides enjoyment and suspends self-consciousness and a sense of time. It is also self-motivating and makes you want to do it again.”
I’m lucky to have the beautiful California wilderness in my backyard (along with Redwoods and the Pacific Ocean), and to be healthy and strong enough to carry 30 pounds for miles.
Backpacking hits all my play boxes (except maybe at the end of the trail when my feet hurt….) As a Conscious Leadership coach, I often call out the ambitious women I work with for too much work and not enough play.
This is a marathon, but if you are going fast, sprint and recover
Covid-19 isn’t going away anytime soon. And, neither is the reignited push for racial justice. Allow yourself to rest, recover and feel joy, even when doing your work.