Rest isn’t lazy. Rest your way to clarity instead.

How stepping away can be the most productive thing you do

Original image by Tatiana Syrikova via pexels. Modified by Author.

My mind has been running on overdrive with ideas, strategies, and excitement.

…so this post is arriving later than usual (but hey, it’s still within one hour of my end-of-week deadline).

I’ve met with two experts⏤who kindly guided me while I consciously discerned what I choose to adopt.

I’ve met with my two accountability groups⏤sharing and exchanging learnings to help each other up level.

Sure, it’s good to strategize and process all these amazing inspired ideas and actions, and, at the same time…

What I needed most was REST

Time away to let all this amazingness stew in my unconscious.

Working more and harder isn’t always the best solution.

Yes, do take action.

…and sometimes the right action to take is to step away momentarily.

Don’t wait until your body forces you to do so.
That’s how burnout builds up over time.

It takes courage to rest, too, and not give in to those workaholic tendencies, especially when I’m passionate about something.

Quiet that anxious side within me, scolding me for not doing enough or getting “there” fast enough.

It’s clear that critical, annoyed voice wasn’t my intuition, because my Higher Self would speak to me in a kinder, more patient way.

It takes a lot of intentionality to counter that deeply ingrained work ethic and reprogram myself to honor rest, relaxation, silence, and doing nothing.

I’d feel so much guilt and shame resting.

Then I’d contradictorily chastise myself for working too much.

No matter which state I was in, I’d make myself feel wrong… and that was exhausting, feeling like I “should” do the opposite.

Things changed when I chose to stop that pattern:
Celebrate when I’m in my flow.
Indulge when I wanted to do nothing related to work.
Honor the fact that I need both to feel fulfilled and happy.

They both have their places, and enjoying either state isn’t wrong.

It’s more than ok to rest!

Remove yourself from any stress.
I went to a yoga class, and the answer to what I was trying to solve came to me in mid-pose. I was talking to my plants as I was gardening, and some of my wandering thoughts gave me the opportunity to gut check my new developments with my Work Life Vision.

Relax without any guilt or shame.
I indulged in our hobbies with my boyfriend, which kept my mind busy and away from work thoughts.

Retreat from all the external stimulations.
I took a few long walks with my pup without any audio entertainment and enjoyed the silence.

Trust that when you’re ready, you’ll know exactly what to do next.
When you step away, the most important considerations and brilliant solutions will surface. That includes the limiting beliefs that haunt you the most, because when you resolve those, you’ll go even further. Trying to pull yourself out of it sooner or over worrying about the what if’s don’t do any good.

TIP: Keep a writing device nearby to jot down any inspired thoughts for later.

Let go in the present and surrender… to… rest.

You’ll emerge from rest with more clarity, energy, and focus for what’s next.

This week’s post is shorter and later, BUT I am excited about the Meet + Greet this Wednesday, Sept 25 at 5pm PST (convert to your time zone). Both free and paid subscribers are welcome to join!

Come meet me and other fellow Soulfueled Entrepreneurs. The floor is open to chat about anything, and feel free to ask about any of these recent Soulfueled developments, too. Plus, I’ll take you through a short, insightful exercise at the end as well.

Btw, this won’t be recorded and I’ll send out the Zoom link via Chat.

See you then!

---

USEFUL JOURNAL PROMPTS

What do you honestly think about rest? What are some undeniable signs of when you need rest? Then, consider what are some warning signs before it gets to that point of exhaustion and burnout.