December always invites a different kind of rhythm. The days slow down, the light shifts, and we find ourselves reaching for a little more meaning — a little more rest — before we cross into a new year.
Lately, as we move deeper into the 66-Day MTR Challenge, I’ve been thinking a lot about what rest really requires of us. Not the collapse-on-the-couch kind of rest (though sometimes that’s needed). I mean real rest — the kind that restores clarity and helps us move with intention.
And nothing taught me that lesson more vividly than a swim I took last November 2024 in the Caribbean… from the island of Nevis to St. Kitts!
When the Current Shifts Beneath You
On that morning, the sea was glassy and calm. I felt strong. Confident. Ready.
What was billed as a 4K swim was a bit intimidating if I thought about it for too long, but for the most part I was ready — until the current changed.
Halfway through the swim, my left shoulder started to ache. A blister bloomed on my right big toe under the fins I wore. The water churned in a way that made every stroke feel like a negotiation. And then I hit the worst of it — I swam into an eddy that held me in place no matter how hard I kicked.
I wasn’t moving forward. At all.
That’s when one of our guides on a nearby boat called out:
“You’re alright! Just back out of it, then come around and swim towards me — but don’t stop.”
Once I swam backwards, away from the direction I wanted to go, and then got to the boat I flipped onto my back, let the water hold me, breathed long and slow, drank some electrolyte loaded water, and simply… rested. Not quitting. Not forfeiting. Just recalibrating.
And then — only then — was I able to begin again.
That moment taught me a truth I’ll carry into 2026:
Rest is not the absence of progress. Rest is what makes progress possible.
That swim — which ended up being closer to 5K because of the shifting currents — changed how I think about rest in our work lives, too. It also taught me that sometimes we have to retreat and go backwards in order to move forward.
We often mistake rest for stopping.
We fear that if we ease up for even a moment, we’ll lose momentum or fall behind.
But the opposite is true.
- Rest steadies your nervous system.
- Rest restores emotional clarity.
- Rest sharpens intuition.
- Rest gives your subconscious room to work on your behalf.
As I teach in Move. Think. Rest., some of our most powerful problem-solving happens when we aren’t “trying.” It happens in the drifting, the unwinding, the hypnagogic edges of sleep, or the quiet moments when we let our minds meander.
December is full of those moments… if we allow ourselves to notice.
Here are a few practices inspired by that swim — and by the principles of the MTR operating system — that you can bring into the holiday season:
1. Float Before You Force
If you’re overwhelmed, step away for 90 seconds. Close your eyes. Breathe. Let your brain shift from doing to being.
2. Protect Two Evenings a Week
Turn off the email notifications. Give your brain the space to soften.
3. Choose One “Mini-Sightline” Each Day
Just as I aimed for small peaks along the horizon on that swim from Nevis to St. Kitts, pick a single meaningful focus point each morning.
4. Take Off the “Fins” That Are Hurting You
What tools, habits, or expectations are rubbing you raw? Sometimes letting go of what you think is helping you is the real breakthrough.
5. Let People Swim Back for You
It was a fellow swimmer, Peggy, who got me through the final stretch. Ask for help. Receive it. That’s rest, too.
As we approach the new year, remember this:
- You are allowed to pause.
- You are allowed to float.
- You are allowed to rest without losing pace.
The currents will shift again in 2026. They always do. But if you move with intention, think with spaciousness, and rest with purpose, you’ll meet whatever comes with clarity — and courage.
And if you haven’t yet joined the 66-Day MTR Challenge, it’s not too late.
Start your own rhythm of movement, reflection, and rest today.
There is still so much time to shape who you’re becoming.
About Natalie
Dr. Natalie Nixon is the creativity whisperer to the C-suite, helping leaders make better business decisions through wonder and rigor. At Figure 8 Thinking, she’s a creativity strategist, global keynote speaker and author of the award winning The Creativity Leap and the upcoming book Move. Think. Rest.: Redefining Productivity & Our Relationship with Time.
Real Leaders named Natalie one of the Top 50 keynote speakers of 2022 and she’s been featured in Forbes and Fast Company. She received her BA from Vassar College, and her PhD from the University of Westminster. These days you can find her on the ballroom floor fine-tuning her cha-cha and foxtrot.
Follow Natalie on Instagram: @natwnixon.
