Rest is the Answer
august 1, 2022Can you feel a weight being lifted off of you when you read that statement?
We often don’t give ourselves permission to rest. We think that if we do, it means we will lose money or our clients will leave us to find someone else. We think our worthiness as entrepreneurs is tied to our productivity.
But what if you could shift the belief? Rest is where the magic happens. How would your life be different if you could view breaks as a necessary tool to replenish your creativity and bring greater clarity to your business and purpose?
The wake-up call to rest
I am going to make a bold statement here (surprise, surprise!) and say that greater rest equals greater productivity. Even more daring, I am going to invite you to see that your worth is not tied to your productivity.
In fact, never stopping leads to massive burnout, something I know a thing or two about...
In 2019 I was taking on too many projects, hustling hard, and wanted to make a lot of money. I made $120K that year… but I also burned out.
This caused me to take a massive step back at the beginning of 2020, hire a coach, and decide I wanted to become a coach.
That reset in 2020 helped me see that I could pivot my business. It allowed me to shift things so I could fall back in love with creating.
I could have avoided all of this, but in 2019, I didn’t yet understand the importance of taking a step back from my business, setting firm boundaries, or listening to myself and my body.
If you’re thinking, “I take plenty of naps already, Jess!” then this blog is for you. Rest comes in many forms and each one serves an important function in renewing your energy.
Playing around with the 7 forms of rest (plus examples!)
1. Physical rest
This is what most of us think of off the bat. When I paint a mural, I am physically exhausted afterward. I know this about myself, so I listen closely to my body and schedule time to chill once work is done.
That looks like making sure I am not doing other physical labor during this time, scheduling a massage, or using my Theragun (a lifesaver!).
2. Mental rest
Mental rest is when you turn your brain off. This is especially important after a large span of learning new or challenging information.
For a while, I was diving into all of the nuances of astrology. This meant my mind was focused on taking in all the information I could. It was great, it worked, I learned a lot… but also I needed to take a break from consuming.
3. Sensory rest
A lot of us spend time on social media or sit at computers all day with our focus pulled in many different directions. It's important to get grounded and step back from technology in order to re-center, realign our posture, and protect our eye sight!
To do this, I use a Chrome extension called eyeCare. When I turn it on, it dings every 30 minutes as a reminder to look away from the computer. If I’m overstimulated and able to get out of my house, I take a walk outdoors and surround myself with nature. Maybe for you, it's going to a park, being near water, or sitting in a dark room and meditating.
4. Creative rest
This one can be tough for creative business owners. As a designer or artist, you know that when you constantly try to be creative, it’s hard to produce. This is why you need creative rest.
Take a break, watch a favorite tv show, hang out with friends, or take a step away from your physical space.
Something to be mindful of is that you may have creative hobbies outside of work, so it’s really more of the same thing. Watch out for this! Try getting out into nature or stepping back from your hobby if it doesn’t feel like it’s helping you unwind at the moment.
5. Emotional rest
This is all about learning the balance of feeling your feelings but not living in your feelings. Emotional rest can come into play when events like the overturn of Roe v. Wade happens. We're tapped out, frustrated, angry, upset, and fearful. Those are huge emotions to navigate, so how do you do it?
My advice is to step away from whatever is causing emotional pain and distance yourself from it. Choose to come back in small doses or you will burn out. The phrase “you can’t help others unless you are able to help yourself first” is true. Just like an oxygen mask on an airplane, you can’t show up for other people unless you show up for yourself.
Plus, you have more compassion for others when you give it to yourself first.
6. Social rest
All my introverts out there know this is a big one! It’s important for your well-being to have social time with friends, family, partners, coworkers, etc. It’s equally as important to have alone time and do something for yourself. We’ve all been at a party or hung out with people for too long and end up so tired that we just want to sit in front of the TV and eat Cheetos in peace.
Social rest can look like alone time, a walk in nature, hanging out with your dog, meditating, or booking a massage or floating spa session. Whatever you choose, do it for yourself by yourself.
7. Spiritual rest
If you’ve been intensely researching or learning about spirituality, it’s good to take a step back. Remind yourself that you will come back to bettering yourself, but you should also take time to pause and live in the moment along your journey.
Spiritual rest is also finding deep purpose in life and making sure you are connecting to doing what matters to you and contributing to the greater good. Work is most fulfilling when it aligns with our beliefs, merging rest, play, and magic in our daily lives.
Ultimately, the goal of each type of rest is to make more space for what you want to bring into your life. How badass is that?!
Why you should play with rest
A healthy balance of both work and play is the answer to a lot of the questions we wrestle with in business. Through pausing, you can check-in, notice, and take care of yourself before you hit major burnout.
As you build these practices into your routine, remember that you are one person. At the end of the day, you are only responsible for yourself. You may have family, children, or pets that fall under your umbrella of care, but you do them a great disservice when you don’t meet your own needs first.
If you can’t tell, I’m passionate about the value of pausing, playing, and ditching perfectionism. I talk all about this on my podcast, The Badass Roadmap, in Episode 5 if you want to listen!
Listen to Episode 5Ready to explore what rest can do for your life and business? I have a few ways you can work with me and I’d be honored to be your guide on this journey.
Sharing to Pinterest? Here’s a few images [coming soon!]: