Resting Time is Valued Time

Resting Time is Valued Time

“Sometimes making progress means taking rest days.”

Many of us athletes, coaches, and parents push our athletes and ourselves to the limit. We keep playing, practicing, and training every single day. We take private lessons, gym sessions, and nutrition to the next level so that we take our performance in our softball positions to the next level as well. We strive for our idea of “perfection”, get disappointed when it is not met and jump for joy when we do.

But we also get sore, tired, and run down. We lose focus, passion for the game, and sight of our goals. We start going through the motions instead of taking on challenges. We start to stay in the same place because our bodies and minds are beat up; we keep going and going, even though we are not improving.

It is okay to work hard every day, but we have to make sure that we are working our minds and bodies in a positive and progressive way so that every once in a while, we REST!

Resting time is valued time. It allows us to restart, refocus, rebuild, and reassess. If we don’t rest, we will not move forward, but completely plateau, sometimes even moving backwards. Playing tired whether it is mentally or physically is not helping your performance, but stopping improvement. Take advantage of REST! We need it! Whether it is for a day or for a week, you have to give yourself a break. So many of us worry that resting and taking a break is going to hurt us and slow us down, but it is actually helping us. We have to learn to listen to our body and to our hearts so that we know when it is time to rest. If we can do that, then we can reach our goals, expectations, and our idea of success without a clouded mind, tired body, and lack of focus.

Rest, rest, rest! Let your body and your mind have a break so that you can focus, find that love for the game again, work hard, rebuild yourself, and start moving in a positive and improving way.

If you push yourself and never allow your body and mind a break, you will be making everything a lot harder on yourself, negativity will arise, and lack of control will reside.

Find your intuition and listen! Allow yourself to rest so that you can move forward and become your very best!

Written by Nikoli Sharp