Medals analogy
The "medals analogy" is one of the key analogies we use at OptimalWork to explain the various levels by which challenges are embraced and growth is undertaken. The original medals analogy was coined by Dr. Guy Meadows, and we have adapted the analogy (with one significant change!) for our purposes.
Contents
Guy Meadows' Analogy Applied to Sleep
In The Sleep Book: How to Sleep Well Every Night, Dr. Guy Meadows presents a novel approach to insomnia that is founded on the tenets of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.
The book introduces what Dr. Meadows calls "The Olympic Podium of Night-Time Activity" to describe the different levels of success that one can have when trying to get a good night's sleep.
According to this schema, if you're able stay in bed all night, no matter how awake or upset you are, you get a medal. On the other hand, if you're having trouble sleeping and then get out of bed, trying to distract yourself from the frustration that comes with staying awake, you don't get a medal.
The Gold Medal
"The gold medal goes to you when you are lying in bed asleep, as this is when you conserve the most energy and get rest."
In other words, you get the gold medal when you've successfully conquered insomnia for the night. Since sleeplessness is the "symptom" that you are trying to conquer, we can think of the gold medal as being awarded for no symptoms.
The Silver Medal
"The silver medal is given when you are lying in bed with your eyes closed in a state of quiet wakefulness, while waiting for sleep to come.
"Here you accept the fact that you are awake and are willing to ‘watch’ and ‘welcome’ any of your wanted or unwanted thoughts, memories, images or sensations that arise in your mind and body moment by moment. You take the position of a peaceful bystander who watches over your internal world without judgment or comment.
"You recognize that paradoxically the key to sleeping is having an accepting and relaxed attitude towards being awake at night."
The silver medal, therefore, involves perfect acceptance of sleeplessness. You may be awake, but you're completely willing to remain awake, welcoming whatever thoughts and feelings come with it. (As Dr. Meadows describes above, the willingness to be awake is crucial for anyone struggling with insomnia!) We can thus think of the silver medal as symptoms without frustration.
The Bronze Medal
The bronze medal also goes to lying in bed awake, except in this state there’s less acceptance and more struggle, anxiety, frustration and resignation. Here your unwillingness to experience wakefulness or any of the thoughts and sensations that present themselves begins to amplify your insomnia. When you use unhelpful coping strategies to get yourself to sleep, you inadvertently increase your level of brain stimulation, which pushes you further away from the pre-sleep phase.
The OptimalWork Medals Analogy
The OptimalWork
The Bronze Medal
The bronze medal is symptoms + frustration.
