Yesterday, I blogged about the importance of pushing yourself–“Growth comes at the point of resistance.” (Josh Waitzkin)

Today, because the overall topic is periodicity, I want to delve just a bit into recovery.

How many times have you burnt out? How many times did you tell yourself that you were going to be the best at something, only to reach a point of exhaustion, after which you had to give up. What about the time you played too many high notes on the trumpet, and you injured your lip, forcing you to take a long time off the trumpet to recover?

This is where the recovery part of periodicity comes into play. You must respect the feedback that you are getting from you mind and body. If you start feeling pain or exhaustion (physical or mental), then you need to rest. This could mean taking the rest of the day off. Or it could mean switching to something else that is not so stressful. Take a walk or even a vacation. These are vital to your overall progress. REST IS VITAL TO YOUR PROGRESS. Please remember this and don’t push yourself too far.