Written by Leaders who are invested in their teams carry an additional burden that seldom gets discussed. The stressors of those they lead. How do we know this? It’s called “emotional contagion”. We often can carry the emotions of others – it’s contagious. This is easy to recognize when we are dealing with a major event, such as a injury, or major loss such as death. However, the version that is more common is in the form of daily stressors. It’s harder to detect and over time can cause a major emotional toll on a leader. We may see an individual struggling with confidence or dealing with personal challenges on the home front and we can’t help but feel for them. Alternatively, perhaps we see our team struggle with motivation and we are handling complaints. It can take a toll.
Here is the point. We cannot stop this from happening, but we can better manage how we respond to it.
QUALITY RECOVERY VS. DEMAND
There are different paths we can take to address this, but for today, I want to keep it simple with how we recover. Recovery is not the same thing as relaxing. Relaxing is just engaging in enjoyable activities, which can certainly take the edge off, but may not necessarily recharge the batteries.
Therefore, what type of recovery would be best suited for the mental drain?
RECOVERY ACTIVITIES
We want a recovery method that shuts off or rejuvenates our mind. Think of it like doing an “opposite” activity of the demand. When we go to the gym, that is physically taxing and it’s easy to go home and take a load off. It’s the same principle with our mind. If we are mentally taxed, we want to do something that is opposite.
Walking, running, or working out – Physical activity is the polar opposite of mental activity. You unlock positive hormones, literally release stress out of the body and give your mind a chance to shut off.
Mindfulness meditations – This is an oversimplification, but if you are stressed your attention is not present. You are worried about something coming up or dwelling on something that occurred. Therefore, engaging in present moment meditations drop stress immediately because if you are truly present, than you are in a more composed state. Also (added bonus) you are training your brain to take a step back and not get so “caught” up in stressors. It’s a great tool for staying in the drivers seat with stress.
Keep in mind, this does not mean to stop enjoying your favorite outlets like video games, movies, or reading books. But if you are feeling drained and relaxing isn’t cutting it, make sure to engage in a recovery activity that best matches with the demands you dealt with for the day.