True rest is the embodiment of abundance
Cliff notes version: Prioritizing rest is the embodiment of a more-than-enough life. Are you giving yourself the rest you need?
What is rest, anyway?
Is it naps? Is it not doing anything? Is it retiring from life? Is it healing from an injury? Is it only allowed during total exhaustion?
Let’s make sure we are working with the same definition of rest.
1. the refreshing quiet or repose of sleep:
2. refreshing ease or inactivity after exertion or labor:
3. relief or freedom, especially from anything that wearies, troubles, or disturbs.
For sure, rest is a regenerative pathway to being the human you wish to be.
What I hear most often is “I’m so tired.”
If a woman isn’t actively tired, she is likely wired and amped up, totally in the “busy zone” that our culture absolutely loves.
Neither of these states (tired or wires, or tired and wired) supports our highest vision, our best work, or our best decisions. Both of these states support the status quo, in the end.
Prioritizing rest is choosing you, first. It is refusing to speed up or collapse under outside influence. When we choose to prioritize rest, it requires defining success on OUR terms. When we resist rest, it is an opportunity to be gentle and curious.
Let’s be honest with each other.
Rest is frowned upon in our society. A well-rested woman (or man) is looked at askance. There is a particular badge of pride that we wear when we are over-burdened, over-worked, and way too busy.
For some of you, there may be tremendous resistance to prioritizing rest. Be gentle with yourself. I get it.
But consider this: choosing radical rest is choosing you. It is choosing to run your own race and define success on your own terms. It means setting the bar for yourself instead of letting it be defined for you by someone else’s standards. Ultimately, I see choosing rest as an opportunity for you to make some powerful choices about how you want to show up.
I used to be chronically tired.
I didn’t sleep well for years (like, I don’t know how many full nights of sleep I got past the age of about 8 or 9). I also love to work, and so I channeled a lot of energy into work because other people admired my work ethic and how much I got done. I rarely took time away for rest or play that was intentional.
This is pretty normal, isn't it?
It’s not that I wasn’t doing good work at that time, I was. But, I was also a classic example of tired and wired — I often felt like I was on a hamster wheel that just wouldn’t quit.
What we know about neurobiology is that a tired body can’t access the pre-fontal cortex as readily. The pre-fontal cortex is the part of our brain with the capacity to make excellent decisions and to discern right action that aligns with our values and what is most important. We need this part of our brain online and active in our day-to-day lives.
If you find yourself in the position of definitely NOT wanting to rest (and I’m not just talking about napping and sleeping (though I will say that if you are chronically tired, I would encourage you to commit to getting more sleep), take a deep breath.
How do you want to move through your life?
I, for one, am in it for the long game. I want to move with deliberate presence through my days and the world at large.
This means I prioritize rest every day. I sleep 8 hours per night. I exercise most days and I focus on quality foods that make my body feel clear and alive. I often take a quick nap in the afternoons. I don’t drink alcohol or use other substances as substitutes for real rest. I spend time outdoors. I minimize social media time and I take time to do things that light me up: dance, sing, watch movies.
It has taken me a lifetime to know in my bones that my rest (and yours) is not optional, but necessary.
Not only do these aspects of true restoration feel good and bring me joy, but I am also more efficient when I am rested. Honestly, I get more of the right things done and I’m better in every way. I am more discerning. I am more empathetic, more loving, and more connected to my own wisdom.
I want that for you, as well.
Commit to one or two aspects of your own rest in the coming weeks and see what happens. Question the resistance that comes up. Keep prioritizing, and making space for, true rest.
Being in that draggy state of tiredness and/or wiredness is the ultimate embodiment of a scarcity mindset. When you prioritize rest you are affirming and embodying that there is more than enough time, more than enough money, more than enough resources for me and for you.
Explore for yourself.
Choose you. Choose rest.
It's your turn - tell me how you will prioritize more rest in the coming weeks and note how you feel as a result.