“Rest” is a “four letter” word that I don’t say often (barely ever).
For me, “rest” means to be . . . lazy. . . unproductive . . . useless . . . unworthy . . . incompetent . . . valueless and just plain
NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!!
For me, I measure my self worth on my productivity (sound familiar)???
For me, I LOVE to cross items off my “to do” list and the more items I cross off, the more worthy and valuable and “good enough” I feel.
For me, the more PRODUCTIVE I am the better I feel about myself.
For me, “Rest” just gets in the way!!!
I don’t think this is TOTALLY fucked up. (Though some of you may beg to differ!)
I think it’s ok to feel good when you are productive . . . making those phone calls that have been on your list for weeks, catching up on your emails, crossing off 5 “to do’s” on your work list (I did this today and it felt delightful) or clearing the cupboard under the sink that has taunted you for months.
Being productive is a good thing . . . we all do it . . . we all talk about . . . we all feel happy about it (most of the time).
But what isn’t a good thing (in my humble opinion) is avoiding “rest” and disregarding it as being productive . . . as I have learned the hard way over the past several weeks.
I’ve been struggling with a virus for over a month that has hung on tight and really interrupted my life . . . forcing me to cancel dates with my girlfriends, struggling to keep up with my household responsibilities, rescheduling clients, barely having conversations with my family, canceling my spin classes over and over again and then crawling into bed each night feeling defeated, useless and unworthy . . . which DOES NOT look good on me!!
I’ve been forced to rest, to REALLY rest and it HAS helped me heal, I KNOW that . . . though I still “kicked and screamed” through the entire damn thing.
So I am working on it.
I am not there yet, quite honestly, not even close.
But I am working on accepting “rest” as something that is VERY productive, helping us to thrive as kick ass moms, partners, sisters, friends and human beings!!
And I have decided to put “rest” on my to do list – every single day!
Some days it may look like sipping my coffee on the front porch for 10 minutes instead of gulping it in the car on my way to do a million errands.
Other days it my look like me reading for an hour BEFORE I fold the laundry, empty the dishwasher, email my clients and take the dog for a walk.
I may take a power nap for 20 minutes in the afternoon, or shut down my laptop an hour earlier than I usually do . . . or I may just take 3 deep breaths before I dive into my “to do” list for the day and that’s enough “rest” for now.
Can we try this together? Let’s “pinky promise” that we will all put REST on our to do lists each day and make sure to cross it off!!!
If you need a nudge or accountability – reach out!! I am working hard at this, and I can help you do the same!
So let’s all rest a bit more each day so we can nourish ourselves, kick butt, spread the love and continue to save the world . . . “pinky promise!”
xo,
amy
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