If your mind could speak, what would it say?
In a conversation I had with a friend a few days ago, I said, “if my mind and body could speak at that moment, they would both be wailing at how overworked they both were.” I didn’t even realize how bad it was until the question, “Are you going easy on yourself?” jolted me into a state of introspection. Juggling different things at the same time is no easy feat and if you had asked me before now, I wanted more.
As someone who has been running the entire show of her life like it was a machine(I recently discovered, shockingly, I might add that I am not one:( ), I’ve come to understand that it has become necessary to always pause because exhaustion is real and it could be happening and you wouldn’t even notice. When it feels like a lot is going on, that may be the time to descend into a place of stillness. Let the noise pass and try to quiet down on the negative talk. My inner voice always has something to say about how there’s more to be done and I hate that I listen to her half the time.
Adulting lays the card of reality before you and then you realize how important hard work is. If you want to see results in anything, work has to be put in. But you see, nothing fuels you harder for work like rest- purposeful rest. Stay with me.
To rest, in the simplest terms would mean to lay it all aside and unwind and relax. I don’t know about you but the act of resting in itself is hard work for me. To willfully shut down and take a break is somewhat absurd. The only reason I can think of is the fact that I have never seen the people around me build a culture out of it. Most humans take pride in their ability to go on and on without stopping and it’s awesome, I love that for you. But have you ever imagined what it would look like to retract and re-apply yourself to work? Efficiency is not always found in the grind itself but the results of it. How productive has non-stop work made you? Thoroughly relaxing your mind and expending very little energy at certain points of your journey matters. It’s quite commonly said that life is a marathon, not a sprint and it’s true. The goal is to reach the end and be able enjoy the success, knowing full well that you treated your body right the entire time. When was the last time you slept guilt-free? For us humans, there’s always that one thing we should be doing but evaluating the ‘thing’ and putting it into the urgent or important but not urgent boxes can help you to know the things that can wait and those that cannot.
I try to stay committed to enjoyment but my latest discovery is that while the luxury of good food, great ambiance, exciting adventure and amazing company is high on the enjoyment tick box, these things can only be properly enjoyed in themselves when you have truly rested your mind and body. The thing about our bodies is that when we don’t take initiative by ourselves to rest, it will force a shutdown but in some cases, the mind suffers because you’re probably upset the entire time at how our body ‘betrayed’ you. How original is that when you did it first?
Research shows that body rejuvenation is a fundamental key to long term results. As hard as it might be, try to unplug. No heavy T.V shows, no social media, just vibes. Have a friend keep track for you so that you don’t slip into a comfort zone- If you stay too long there, it just might trump the purpose of resting in the first place.
Work, rest and work again. That’s a better cycle. No matter how far you run, always remember to come back to yourself and ask, if my mind could speak, right now, what would it say?
Hannah Brencher in one of her newsletters said, “there is great power in powering down.” How profound. Power down today. Retract from it all. Your work is not going anywhere.
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Hi friend, thank you for reading! You make it all worth it. I hope you’ll have a refreshing weekend where you’re consciously taking a little time off. Don’t forget to hit the follow button so that you’ll get notified of my next post and please, share if it spoke to you. Merci.
