Rest is the Discipline High Performers Need

Rest is discipline. That’s probably not what we think of when we think of rest. Still, it requires discipline, boundaries, and clarity about priorities.  I  struggled with rest for a significant part of my life, believing that hard workers kept going. They pushed through, they reached for the next thing. My thought process was something along the lines of ambitious people and high performers don’t have time to rest. Exactly the opposite is true. They don’t have time not to.  

Recently, Nick Daicos won the 2026 Brownlow Medal, the highest award in AFL Football. He didn’t just win it; he achieved it with a record number of votes throughout the season. When he received his award, he said some really interesting things in his onstage interview, suggesting that rest is part of high performance.

He spoke about being talented, but realised he needed to discipline it. He spoke about being a hard worker and leading by example. These things are important in chasing a dream, a goal or a purpose in life. 

Nick Daicos also spoke about his habit of journaling. He mentioned that he had been journaling since he was sixteen. As a high performer and overthinker, he does this to clear his mind and start fresh each day. Journaling is one of the tools that provides mental rest and gives our brains space to reset. It’s not a passive form of rest; it’s active, and it requires discipline. Even though he is actively engaged, the result is a rested mind, free from the clutter of overthinking. 

Another thing he mentioned in his speech was that he is not on social media. This gives him sensory rest and helps him avoid becoming emotionally and mentally drained by hearing and seeing things that distract him. Not being on social media is a discipline; it’s a choice to rest so that he can focus on his performance, and it’s a discipline that allows him to concentrate on the things that matter to him.

He spoke about the importance of his relationship with his girlfriend and the importance of her not being football-obsessed. His point was that it allows him to take a break, and breaks from the game are important. Even as the best player in 2026, who commented in his speech that he lived and breathed football from a very early age, he recognises the importance of taking a break. Rest is what enables us to continue to do what we love, a job we feel called to, raising a family, volunteering, whatever it is.

All of the things that he mentioned in his speech require choices and discipline. They require habits. Taking time out to rest doesn’t mean we are slacking off. It can take more effort to set boundaries, work through priorities, and say no to things that overload us. To do all that we want to in life, working out what replenishes us should be part of the disciplines we implement in our daily lives.