What is the power of rest?

Grace Victory shares the real urgency, and necessity, of cutting yourself some slack

CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on Happiful

Recently, I’ve found myself trying to rest, but then immediately telling myself to ‘just’ unload the washing, to ‘just’ put that pile of stuff away, to ‘just’ reply to one last email, to ‘just’ sort out Cyprus’s bag for tomorrow. There’s always just one more thing. My mind tells me to keep going when my body is screaming to just stop.

I think rest is complicated for a lot of us; it’s not necessarily about feeling as if rest isn’t deserved, but more about believing other things are more important. Sometimes it’s simply the fact that our to-do list is nowhere near finished, and the thought of going to bed to wake up to the stuff we ‘should have’ done before going to sleep is counterproductive.

Maybe our need to feel productive stops us from being able to slow down. However, if the past two years have taught me anything it’s that resting when needed, and when called to do so, is probably one of the most productive things we can do for ourselves.

In the western world we have normalised constantly doing, moving and working so much that rest, recovery and rejuvenation opportunities are few and far between. ‘I’ll sleep when I’m dead’ is a great example of the state of our society. However, things are slowly changing – and rightly so. Our wellbeing is in the gutter, we are more burnt out than ever, and if we aren’t in despair at our government, we are in despair at global crises. Something simply has to give.

This culture isn’t fulfilling us anymore. We need to recognise that this lifestyle is taking its toll and maybe we need to pause, slow down and stop filling every waking moment with ‘stuff’. It’s healthy and empowering to have moments within our lives that are quiet, somewhat boring, and unhurried.

Reclaiming rest

I really recommend reclaiming rest and making it something you enjoy, because rest looks different for everyone and different circumstances will require a different form of relaxation. Sometimes you just need to forget about everything and go to sleep. Other times you might only need a break from work, so going on a walk to listen to a podcast would benefit you more. You could have a hot bath, drop your children at your parents’ house so you that can hear yourself think, or maybe you just need to literally sit in silence for a while and do some deep breathing. The important thing to remember is that, whatever you’re doing, it should be filling your cup, not emptying it.

Rest is how we recover, come home to ourselves. and ensure we are able to give and be of service; without rest we are exhausted, irritable and unhappy. I know it’s hard sometimes to even get an hour to yourself without someone needing you, or something needing your attention, but what about what you need from you? Giving yourself some downtime, a quiet moment, and a breather, is so much more beneficial than constantly pouring into everyone and everything else.

This is your sign to just slow down a bit more, take some time off if you can, reset and recharge your batteries and remember that your to-do list, that pile of washing and that return text message can wait. 

The world will not crumble if you put yourself first sometimes, but you will crumble if everyone else always comes before you.