Taking time to reflect: Use your BRAIN

The weekly posts for the rest of May will focus on techniques to help you reflect on your rest habits. Here is the 2nd one in the series. Read the first one here.

Rest is not something that happens to you. It is something that you make happen. You make it happen when you give it thought and planning, when you act on your plans, reflect on what happened, and make changes in the future. This is why “keeping the sabbath” is a commandment. You have to do it.

As you rest more, use your literal brain, of course. And use the other BRAIN. This acronym comes from maternity circles. When a woman is in labour or even after delivery, several situations may arise requiring her to make decisions on how best to proceed. The acronym BRAIN is a tool that women may use to help them make the best decision. In our case, we use this acronym to reflect on our rest.

Think of a situation that impacts your rest. For instance, you may be trying to decide whether you should take on extra responsibility, take that nap, or stay up late to watch that movie. Pick a situation and reflect on the following:

• B is for Benefits. What is the benefit of doing this?
• R is for risks. What risk am I taking by doing this?
• A is for alternative. What alternative is there if I do not do this?
• I is for intuition. What is my intuition telling me about this?
• N is for No, not now or never. Can I say no, not now or never to doing this?

May I ask you to reflect so that this blog can serve your needs better? (You may have filled a form last week. The questions are different. I welcome your feedback if you choose to fill this one as well).