There is a middle ground between wanting to escape from stress and embracing it to fulfill one’s potential.

That was the one niggling thought left in my mind after reading Jim Loehr’s “Stress for Success.”  Basically, the author was advocating a balance between the two predominant approaches when it comes to pressure points and fulfilling the all-too-demanding objectives in the workplace: the “retreat to recharge” school of thinking, and the “no pain, no gain” philosophy.

Admittedly, many of us enjoy the first mindset as it does encourage escape.  Take a break from the grind, shove aside the tough deadlines, and just bask in the serenity of a beach or take a trip to exotic Asia or lovely Paris.  On the other hand, it is the aggressive take-no-prisoners type-A personalities who embrace the second; their drive and tenacity compel them to always search for the next high mountain in their career and push themselves beyond their breaking point to reach it.  The others who fall by the wayside are often dismissed as lesser specimens.

At first glance, Loehr’s middle ground seems so simple it borders on the common sense.  It would require a substantial amount of R and R for the body and mind to recover and refuel its energies.  On the other hand, returning to the battlefield without a predetermined mindset and the necessary will power to reach a higher goal can let all that excess energy go to waste.  Instead of bunking down to work with a greater and more refined focus, the would-be corporate athlete might just plod on and dream of the next great vacation.

Another leadership guru, Stephen Covey, makes a similar point in one of his famous principles to bring about a high level of effectiveness.  He calls this principle “Sharpen the Saw.”  The needed periods of break can also be used for reading books, taking up extra classes, and brushing up on skills.  No amount of time is wasted.

But is the realization of our potential really in our top priorities to those who’ve finally gotten much needed down time after jumping off the high-speed chase of meeting one deadline after another? After we’ve logged on for a two-week cruise in the Bahamas or just one peaceful weekend in our own homes with beer and pizza in one hand and the remote on the other, we simply want to tune out.  Re-examining our past performances or the objectives for the coming quarter is the last thing in our minds when we go on vacation mode. 

Unless the journey to some vacation haven is only a mirror to rediscovering the path to our inner selves.  After our bodies have clocked in the necessary hours of sleep and our minds have released the baggages of pressures and expectations, we will find a huge space in our psyche that needs to be refilled.  We need to remind ourselves why we are fighting the good fight and slugging it out in battle every single day.  As we will soon find out, paying the mortgage may be an adequate source of motivation, but it cannot be a spring of inspiration. 

We might have to ask ourselves some neglected but essential questions.  What do we truly want to do in our chosen professions?  How do we want to leave our own unique mark in our respective fields?  What are the dreams that we had unknowingly discarded by the wayside?  What really motivates us to get up in the morning and put up with all kinds of impossible situations beyond the urgency of a paycheck?  If time, money, and age are not considerations, what would we gladly and passionately do for free?

The realizations may come in trickles, but the opening of new horizons could ignore that small spark that we could bring back to the workplace.  That fresh perspective, perhaps more than the restoration of physical strength and creative juices, could spur us into the next high level.