Everything about our society tells us to keep moving, to keep getting things done and to to never quit until you finally check off every task that you need to complete before you die. Oh, we see the occasional message that you need to ‘take care of yourself’ or ‘spoil yourself’, but these messages often take root in selfishness and encouraging ‘healthy’ self-centeredness. To be honest, I struggle with accepting any of these messages, giving me permission to obsess over what I feel like doing in the moment, because I would rather do what needs to be done. Rest. This does not get things done. Or does it?
Remember those days in college when you needed to pull an all nighter, but needed to get in a ‘power nap’ to make it through the night? You need the extra time to study for that exam, but without a nap, your mind is… shall we say a tad foggy. But after that delightful nap, you can make it through for entire hours without stopping. I’m definitely not telling you to attempt pulling that again, since I feel proud when I stay up until 11:30. However, both in real life and in the gym, the same concept holds true. At some point, if you keep going, every part of your life is going to start showing the strain of your efforts.
This doesn’t happen in a single moment. This happens over a series of moments and doesn’t show just how badly you need rest until you’ve gone way past the point of burn out. Now, we have to spend our time trying to recover before we can even continue the work that we had deemed oh so important. This is the point where we no longer love our job and coworkers, but instead wonder how long we have to keep working there and think ‘not nice’ things about everyone we encounter. This is the point when we seem to continually find another reason why we can’t make it to that Bible study, go to that BBQ with our friends. We’re just too tired of everything.
This is why it is so important for you to get rest. If you wait until you can’t do anything without more rest, then you have waited too long, my friend. You have to make sure that you get rest at regular intervals, so that your rest isn’t about survival, but thriving.
I know what you’re thinking. Who needs tips on how to rest? Just grab that pillow and remote, and you’re good to go. For some of us, a lazy Saturday every now and again does the trick. Sleep in, do nothing and you’re fine. But for the rest of us saps, we have too much going on for that to suffice, Or at least, not for long. We have busy jobs, marriages, friendships and… lives. We need the little bit of rest we fit in to really count. Maybe I’m the only one who has a hard time even remembering what I used to do for fun. I vaguely recall some ruckuses and friends and free time. It all seems like a distant dream that you can’t quite recall. I’m no expert in fitting in rest and pausing, but here are some tips I’ve found that help me.
Tips for Meaningful Rest
- Schedule it out. Everyone who knows me just laughed because this is what I always do– schedule. I’m a planner. But I have to use that to my advantage. I make sure I schedule in time for rest. No matter how far behind I am, I never work on Sundays. I try to fit in a moment every day for a pause (I use this time to do devotions). I also make sure that I take an extended vacation every single year with my family. And finally, I fit in at least two date nights a month with my husband.
- Make it quality. Do something that actually makes you feel rested and not something you found on someone else’s list. Devotions keep my attitude in check, so I consider that high-quality. I also hang out with my husband to safeguard my marriage from burn out.
- Don’t let it bog you down. It becomes so easy to make getting rest just another item to check off. If you need to reschedule, then do so. But make sure to limit how frequently you do so. Otherwise, you’ll never get in your rest.
- Keep your focus. If you can’t stop thinking about all the things you should be doing, redirect yourself. I keep my iPhone handy to jot down any tasks to my note app (forgotten until needed).
I’ll keep this blog brief so that you can get a head start on your rest.
