Resting guarantees a longer efficacy time, and a better mental health, yet is in underrated in today’s society. It isn’t really an option: we are limited machines and we’d better rest by choice, than by mental or physical constraint.
The notion of choice is important here. Overworking is a choice we are constantly making, without really realizing it. But we aren’t really to blame: our labor-oriented societies have somehow privileged work and productivity at the detriments of our personal feelings. Thankfully though, the development of a counter movement based on well-being and personal development acts as a constant reminder of what we have put aside for far too long .
How often have i asked people how they were feeling, and their answers were stressed/tired/burned-out/overwhelmed/always on the run and out of time. Interestingly, that answer stays the same no matter how busy your life actually is. You can be self employed or an employee, a stay-at-home parent or a child: we all seem to have a tendency to take on more than we feel we can.
It is one thing to be tired because our lives today are getting busy and overly demanding, but I tend to worry more about the fact that we are tired because we didn’t learn how to rest. We learned to be productive, learned the dos and don’ts, learned to have constantly activated and stimulated brains, but we skipped the part where we learn to take a break, breathe a minute. We forgot to learn the importance of greeting ourselves, congratulating ourselves, pampering ourselves and giving ourselves a high five or a break.
Being aware of this helps in reclaiming your right in feeling better. And your duty, too.
“Some of us think holding on makes us strong but sometimes it is letting go” (Herman Hesse)
It is always better to rest from time to time, than to quit. Yet, quitting is underrated too! Don’t rest, don’t quit seems to be some kind of an unspoken rule, the “we’ll sleep when we’re dead” rule of many perfectionists trying to be better, do better.
Yet sometimes letting go is the best thing one can do. Not that we shouldn’t try, but we should also learn to leave a situation when it gets dreadful, and save our own skins!
Don’t wait until you’re burn-out to quit, you will hold it within you and self-criticize, forcing yourself into the same detrimental pattern. Learn when to try, learn when to rest, and learn when to give up. Learn to listen to your own body, your own mind, rather than the general norm. Learn to answer your need, your growth mechanism, and take back control because self-care is no longer an option.
Nobody said life had to be so hard. And even if they had… would you really want to listen to them?
