People need to stay healthy to perform at their best. They are then more able to do stimulating work, stretch themselves and achieve success.
Bearing this in mind, people can find it useful to know how to refresh themselves. Sometimes this calls for going through the process of rest and revitalisation.
This can then lead to what Matthew Fox, author of The Reinvention of Work, called the feeling of refirement. He described this in the following way.
That’s what I want to do with my remaining years. More fire. More focused fire. More passion, not less. More compassion, not less. Does this speak to your experience too?
Let’s explore how people go through some of these stages to continue to give their best to the world.
Revitalisation
In The Past
Looking back, how have you revitalised yourself in the past? Here are some answers that people gave to this question.
The specific things I have done
to revitalise myself have been to:
Sleep properly … Go for walks … Eat nutritious food … Be with my loved ones … Spend time alone collecting my thoughts.
Refocus on my purpose … Listen to stimulating music … Visit a Spa … Listen to running water … Go to art galleries … Read inspiring books.
People love to follow their passion, translate this into a clear purpose and achieve peak performance. Some people do not do this during the work.
They tend to survive, rather than thrive. Even if people do love their work, however, they need to care for their health.
Tom Rath highlighted this theme in his book Eat, Move, Sleep. After writing books about building on strengths, he turned his attention to helping people improve their health. He wrote:
I am tired of seeing people suffer unnecessarily and die early.
That may sound dramatic, but it is the truth.
We are literally killing ourselves, sapping our energy, and destroying our wellbeing as a result of lousy decisions we make about our health each day.
Last year, after losing far too many friends, colleagues, and loved ones to largely preventable conditions, I had enough. So I stepped away from a job I loved to dedicate all of my time to help fix this colossal problem.
After studying the state of health and business for more than a decade, it is clear to me that improving health is the biggest social and economic challenge of our time, all wrapped into one.
The vast majority of human disease and illness is preventable. There are hundreds of specific, proven actions we can take to increase our odds of living longer and stronger.
What matters most are the small decisions we make each day, ones that give us more energy in the moment and also prevent illness in the future.
Tom believes it is vital for people to take more charge of their health. He wrote the following piece that highlights some of the key questions to ask when looking at a career move. You can discover more via the following link.
http://www.tomrath.org/1q2ask/
One question to ask before you take (or leave) a job
Stop for a moment and think about what truly matters in a given day. Having more energy. Quality time with friends and loved ones.
Doing great work that makes a difference. Being active throughout the day. Getting a sound night of sleep.
The next time you are considering any type of career move — from a new job to an internal job change or even quitting — ask this one simple question:
Will I be healthier as a result of this new job?
If you are considering multiple job options, ask yourself which one is more likely to improve your health and wellbeing two years from now.
In the end, that will matter far more than the 10% difference in pay, a better benefits package, or nicer office.
The right job should do as much for your health, relationships, and wellbeing as it does for your bank account.
Rest and revitalisation play in crucial part in refreshing the body and soul. If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to describe the specific things you have done in the past to revitalise yourself.
Revitalisation
In The Future
People can gain energy from rest and revitalisation. Sometimes they can also reignite their inner fire. They then feel more ready to follow their passions and purpose in life.
This can happen at any stage of life. Matthew Fox, Jim Gambone, Erica Whittlinger and Lynda Smith have highlighted how this can happen from middle age onwards.
They all described the concept of refirement, rather than retirement. You can read more about their work via the following links.
http://www.matthewfox.org/2011/02/retirement-or-refirement/
https://refirementnetwork.com/
http://www.refirement.com/index.html
Matthew Fox wrote about this approach soon after his sixty-fifth birthday. Whilst he was talking about reaching the time of so-called retirement, many of the ideas can be applied at any age. Here are some of the things he said on his blog.
There’s no one way to become fired up. But the key, I sense, is to tend to the fire itself.
Keeping it alive, reigniting it if it has waned, digging deep for the fuel and the flame; reaching down to find where it lurks.
What do you most cherish in life? How can you get another generation excited about that and involved?
What fire do you sense in the young people you know? How can you join forces and contribute to their passion and concern?
What books do you read or what speakers do you listen to who stir some fire inside you? How can you share that fire with others?
Creativity is a fire. How are you being creative? What art forms are you expressing yourself through these days?
What are your talents and what is your experience in life that might be valuable to others, especially the young?
You will find your own way to go through the stages of rest, revitalisation and refirement. If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to do the following things.
Describe the specific things you can do to revitalise yourself in the future.
Describe the specific benefits of doing these things.
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