My Personal Restorative Ecosystem

- contributed by Cindy Leavitt

I made it through last week using my personal restorative ecosystem. The glow of my fabulous recent vacation quickly faded as I plunged head first into our budget preparation. We have had a lot of turnover in our financial team and I found myself working with two new analysts who were helpful, but had no experience with our complex operation and were also responsible for supporting several other departments. This meant that I was working long hours and digging into details that I normally would leave to others.

As the week progressed, I could feel the exhaustion settling in and I started to get grumpy and resentful. I knew that the budget needed to be done and I was going to need to do most of it. I also knew that I wanted to remain a positive leader and that my attitude would be amplified throughout the organization.

Over the years, I have created foundational habits and established deep relationships that help me excel or just cope and they are particularly important during times of stress. I think of it as my personal restorative ecosystem. 

This is what works for me:    

●      I exercise every day. As my alarm goes off each morning at 5 a.m., I ask myself whether I will get more energy from an hour more of sleep or going to the gym. The answer is getting up. I can think better and I have far more energy when I exercise. My form of exercise has changed over the years. The more busy I am, the more important it becomes. When I started my weekend MBA program, I increased my intense exercise rather than cutting it out.

●      I pray or meditate every day. Recently, I have started guided meditation which allows me time to stop my monkey mind and centers me. I prefer to do this in the morning before anything else so I can refocus on how I want to be in the world.

●      I connect deeply with others. My family and friends are important to me. I often combine my exercise with connection time. My husband and I went for our first bike ride of the season last Saturday with one of our friends. In order to deeply connect with someone whom I am meeting for the first time, I ask them what they are passionate about. Earlier this week, I had a spontaneous connection with someone I just met over our mutual love of biking. The other benefit of this approach is that it allows me to remember names, which is hard for me.

●      I write in my gratitude journal. I don’t do this every day, but when I start feeling anxious and stressed, like I was last week, it is a concrete way to reframe my perspective.

●      I serve others. This works best for me when it is planned. My church has provided many opportunities. One that I cherish the most was leading the teenage girls in our congregation for several years. Or when I am stressed, like I was last week, I look for small things that I can do. Last week I remembered a friend’s birthday with flowers and a funny card that lifted us both.

During the stressful time, I was more aware of how my attitude was affecting my behavior and I purposefully used my restorative ecosystem to increase my energy and positivity. I was not always the leader and person I aspire to be. I expressed my frustration and was distracted at different points in the week. I am confident that I can learn to be better because I am more aware and open to change. 

As you go through this week, think about your own personal restorative ecosystem and which habits you could develop that would allow you to be more of the person you want to be.  The habit I need to work on next is going to bed earlier!