Rest When You Need to Rest

Hi! How are you feeling today? I don't know how it was for you, but last week was a rough one for me. I was feeling very anxious and unsettled. I just wanted to pull the covers over my head and hide out for a few days...or longer...

You may know that feeling.

I had plenty to do last week. Even though I'm in the privileged position to make my own hours, building a business is no joke. I still have a never-ending to-do list, just like everyone else.

But instead of forcing myself to work when I was feeling bad, I paused. I listened to what my body was telling me. It wanted rest, and so I slept. A lot. I didn't feel clear-headed and my energy was low, so I rescheduled a client coaching session. (Shout-out to wonderful, understanding, and caring clients!)

Feeling anxious, or sick, or exhausted, or foggy, was never enough of a reason for me to take time off of work before. I worked through pretty much anything and everything. What my body needed was always last on the list.

Is that true for you, too?

Our inability to take time away from work when we need it is another example of just how out of balance work actually is in our culture. Many, many people leave their vacation hours on the table every year. Some companies offer ZERO paid time off to employees - not even paid sick days. The US is one of the handful of countries that does not mandate paid parental leave.

And within this culture, we are somehow supposed to carve out "work life balance" individually? Hmmmm......

Burnout is so rampant, not just due to structural reasons, but also because individuals don't know how to work differently. Even those of us who are the builders of the things can burn out when we go too hard for too long. The pressure to work is immense, and the pressure is both external and internal.

The good news is our bodies have a lot to share with us if we're willing to tune in and listen. We can learn how to know when to work and when to rest. We can start to cultivate a practice of putting our needs closer to the top of our list. And we can begin to see how we can maximize our impact by taking time to restore our energy.

My challenge for you this week is to pause and really listen to yourself about what you want and what you need. And then follow-through on whatever that is.

Take that day off if you need it. Go grab that coffee you're thinking about. Do something that feels restorative. You deserve it! And it's necessary.

P.S. We offer 1:1 coaching programs that are custom designed to help. Get started here!