Rest is Not A Hinderance to Motivation

My birthday was a couple of days ago and I was pretty upset by the fact that I had to work from 9-9 with little to no time for myself. I was driving in my car feeling the weight of my burn out, when I realized something. I could be resting right now. Now to go to sleep and rest in a way that most of you are thinking would have resulted in a fiery car crash and a traumatizing birthday, but even in my in-between time I was still checked in to what was burning me out. We have this negative connotation that rest and self care has to be this big ordeal that lasts an entire day, and although that can be the case, it also can exist in the small moments as long as we allow our brains to do so.

 I was eating my lunch while I was driving and I drove past a park. I stopped, got out and ate my lunch at a picnic table. I only had about 10 extra minutes, and I really had to push through my feelings of guilt. Literally, on my birthday I felt guilty for doing something I wanted to do. All I could think about was what else I should have been using that time for. It all of a sudden clicked. It didn't matter how many moments I took to myself, how many days I took off, or plans that I canceled.To me rest was a weakness, it was a flaw, and it wasn't benefiting me. Yet, it was the exact thing that I needed to save me from my burnout, and the exact thing that would help me continue to be a good employee and continue being myself. Rather than thinking of rest as the thing that is keeping me from being productive, I have started to view it as the tool that I need to be the best version of myself. It's not selfish, It's not a weakness, It's a requirement to make it through this crazy thing called life. Sure, I could push through, never rest, and stay tuned in to make all of my goals happen faster, but if I end the process as a burnt out shell of a human being, what was it all really for? Rest is not a hindrance to motivation, but a key part of keeping the motivation going.

By Madsion Reed