‘Winter will be forced to relent, once again, to the new beginnings of soft greens, long light, and the sweet air of spring’.

Madeleine M. Kunin
Swiss Diplomat, Author and Politician

Renewal and the promise of spring

This Sunday marks the Spring Equinox, when day and night are in balance, the earth turns, and the season of spring with its scent of renewal begins. At a time when the world still feels dark, and out of balance, why not use this time of the Spring Equinox to cultivate the practice of personal renewal?

Renewal is not the same as rest or relaxation. It's a deliberate practice of nurturing and sustaining ourselves. As Boyatsiz and McKee say in their book Resonant Leadership:

We need more than rest and relaxation. We need renewal in order to sustain ourselves. Reversing the slide into dissonance, and keeping ourselves energised as a leader are possible only through practicing renewal. The effects of ‘power stress’ do not allow the body, heart and mind to flourish and even the spirit may start to wane.

As we stand on the eve of spring, why not use it as a time to make renewal part of your day in the coming weeks?

How Mindfulness can help

Our lives are lived in moments. One breath at a time, one step at a time, one conversation and one action at a time. Mindfulness helps us to catch ourselves, and ‘wake up’ when we are not present for these moments. If we are not present then our default way of living tends to kick in, and we live as if always about to ‘get somewhere’ as opposed to ‘be here’. When we are not fully here, we miss the momentary opportunities to renew ourselves.

Mindfulness helps us to connect more fully with the state of our bodies, our emotions and our minds. When mindful we are both more likely to recognise the symptoms of fatigue, low energy or overwhelm, and give ourselves permission to practice self - care and renewal.

This is not a selfish act, it’s an ethical act. When we are under resourced we are less likely to be fully attentive to ourselves and those around us, and therefore less effective as a leader.

In their article ‘Serious Leaders need Self Care Too’, the Harvard Business Review explores why we find this so hard. They suggest we make it ‘micro’. So let’s explore some simple ‘micro’ practices that will renew and restore you in the midst of your day to day work.

Find your re-set button

At any point in the day when you feel a bit 'out of sorts’ stop and attend to your breathing.
- Stand or sit down and let your breath settle into a regular rhythm. Place your attention on following the in breath and the out breath;
- Make your out breath slightly longer, and on each out breath notice and drop any tension in the body. You might feel it in your jaw, your shoulders or your hands. Allow the breath to soften and release this tension;
- Take this moment, like a spring leaf to 'unfurl', steady yourself through a few intentional breaths, and then move into the next moment of your day.

Find micro moments of stillness

Turn waiting time into pause time by using it to create a micro moment of stillness. This is not a ‘nothing’, it’s a something. A doorway, a switch, and an opening to a little more calm, a little more wisdom and a little more presence. As school leaders, it's probably too much to ask to find long stretches of silence and stillness in our busy days, so let's focus instead on finding those micro-moments. Next time you are waiting for the kettle to boil, the phone to ring, the lesson or meeting to begin or have simply arrived at school and turned off the car engine. Just do nothing. For one moment. Stop, pause, breathe, re-set and rest.

Do one thing each day that nourishes you

When we start to feel depleted we tend to neglect the nourishing activities which usually help us feel better, and instead 'push through and plough on' doing those things which we know we have to do but may not be so nourishing. This further depletes and exhaust us. We can break this downward spiral by visiting a classroom, taking a walk around the playground, or drinking a cup of decent coffee, and doing nothing else while we drink it!

If you have time to go further, here is a lovely short video that will take you on a journey with sculptor John Koga, as he works with an ancient but dying tree and through his art; re-casts, and renews it into a beautiful new form.