Self-Love Reflection: Rest

Posted: June 19, 2011 at 4:09 pm

I’ve mentioned before on this blog the difficulty I face with resting. Doing nothing. Letting things go and taking a break. The need to rest can be hard to accept because we want to believe we can do it all. We want to have control and make certain that our actions achieve the results we desire. We want to feel proud for our achievements.

relax

I know I have tried getting up early to cram more into my day. I eventually felt so exhausted all the time that I accomplished less overall. I had no energy! In the past, I have avoided taking rest days from workouts to fit in all the things I “should” to lose weight. I ended up taking a couple weeks off from an extremely achy body and lacked motivation to return. Even now, I fill my schedule and don’t get enough genuine rest from doing and going in my everyday life. I take time each day for things I enjoy, but rarely does that include a moment of nothing.

Our minds and bodies need rest. They need moments of peace regularly. It helps rejuvenate us so we can feel strong and capable of facing life. It gives us time to decompress and appreciate our lives. Rest enables us to continue growing into the people we aim to be. Without rest, we turn into empty vessels, drained of life and the energy to live it. I know those days when I find a time to relax and calm myself, I can handle so much more. I continue to learn the lesson of needing rest. I forget so easily, but always seek it out with time.

  • How will you rest today?

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27 Comments to “Self-Love Reflection: Rest”
  1. This is so true! I need to learn to rest and relax a lot more. I will probably take a studying break later to sit and watch some tv- I’m not sure that counts since I’m not doing “nothing”…but it’s mindless tv so I don’t need to think about anything 🙂

  2. It is so refreshing to hear that others struggle with rest. This is something that has been very hard for me for a long time–I find that my mind and body are spinning so many hours out of the day, that by the next day, I feel as though I don’t have all of my energy that I used to.

    This helped to remind me to take time to sit and read or watch a favorite movie. It is okay to do nothing, too! I just need to keep that in mind!

    I think I’ll try to relax a little while catching up on Grey’s Anatomy. Thanks for the reminder about resting!

  3. Lauren says:

    I can relate 100%!! I feel almost guilty when I take even a few moments to rest. I’ve become so ingrained to think that my only deserved time of rest is when I am sleeping, and even then, I know I don’t give my body nearly as much as it probably needs. It’s funny how we can so easily guilt ourselves into thinking we don’t do enough but then its so hard to convince ourselves that we are doing too much.

  4. Lisa says:

    That’s how I feel lately. I never have down time and when I do I end up feeling guilty for not DOING stuff. This weekend it kind of caught up to me. I am currently just spending the day watching tv!

  5. Katheryn says:

    As a mother, we can never have a true day of doing nothing, right? But rest – we can achieve. Sunday is my day of rest. I don’t get up before the kids to get stuff done. I don’t exercise on that day. I get up when they get up. We have a leisure breakfast, play games, and sit around until it’s time to get ready for church. After church we hang out more together. Make dinner together, and either take a walk as a family or have a family movie night. Definitely a restful day and a great way to start another busy week.

  6. Danica says:

    This couldn’t have read this at a better time….I woke up with a migraine this morning, and I think that was my body’s way of seriously telling me I’ve been pushing it too hard lately. I needed a full day of rest! It’s so easy to forget the importance of it, and though I’m honestly really antsy to move my body/exercise today I know it’s best to just RELAX.

  7. I love this post! It is so true, and so easy to forget. I think I will rest today by enjoying a quiet dinner out on the balcony! 🙂

  8. Jill says:

    I LOVE this post. I wanted to tell you that I was forced to rest. I had surgery on my foot in February, followed by a stress fracture and now plantar faciitus. I have been off my feet since February 3rd. I am usually a VERY active person. As hard as it has been to be “still” it really has been a blessing in disguise. I have been given the opportunity to sit without the guilt. I have been given the chance to work on my insides. I didn’t realize how important this was to my overall happiness. I have lost a lot of weight- but I still carried a lot of weight on the inside. Sometimes being still is more important than moving! Thank you for this post! I have really enjoyed your blog!

    • Tina says:

      Isn’t ti amazing the things we can learn in certain situations that seem so terrible at the start. Thanks for sharing your experience!! It shows myself (and others) just how good rest can be. 🙂

  9. This is a perfect post for me today! I’ve been really pooped over the past few weeks and I planned to take today as a total day of R & R. It’s SO hard though because of all the things that I want to get done—laundry, weeding, dishes, dog walking, etc. etc. always seem to get in the way 🙂 But for the most part, I did relax and I even had a little nap 😉 It wasn’t easy though. I definitely have an issue where I feel like I need to be able to do it all. Today I just told myself it would still be there tomorrow 🙂

  10. Katie says:

    I have given up on rest days completely. On my rest days I may bike, lift or do yoga. Today was lift and yoga. I just don’t sleep when I don’t work out. I feel guilty all night. I struggled with rest days because I need that to really get my mind to calm down! I was just reading in Eat, Pray, Love how Americans can’t simply sit and I definitely fit that stereotype. It also said how Americans feel the need to earn pleasure when we should just admit we deserve it! The constantly trying to get ahead and better is good to a point but we all need to remember to do things that bring us pleasure and happiness. And yes sometimes this includes rest!

    • Tina says:

      I hope you get some down time into that schedule soon. I can relate to it being hard to accept, but it does always feel so much better when we make rest happen. I remember that part of the book – SO true!

  11. Very true. I usually do end up having at least 1 rest day a week due to schedules, but I need to work on not feeling bad about it!

  12. Ahh this is so true. Right now I absolutely have to rest and feel soooo guilty about it. But rest is good and I’m trying to accept my body’s limitations and not feel like a loser for napping so much. 🙂

  13. Amanda says:

    Rest is a hard one…my mind does not shut off! I am in pursuit of rest in my life and seeking God to teach me how it works. I’m just so stubborn sometimes that I miss the lessons….need to pray for clear sight about opportunities and nudges in this direction.
    Great reminder!

  14. Jess says:

    Resting is a HARD concept for me, but now that it’s summer I have more time to do so. I enjoy my naps 😉

  15. lindsay says:

    we need a sabbath day, no matter what day of the week. A day to recoup, relax, and recharge! Easier said than done in our society ,ya know? thank you for reminding us its okay.

  16. I was thinking a lot about resting yesterday. My weekends are sometimes more busy than my week days, which is not good because I really need some down time from work stress. Today though after doing my long run, I spent a few hours in the yard and then cleaning up the house instead of meeting friends for wine tasting. As much as I wanted to be social, I knew my body and spirit needed a little recouping and my week will be better as a result. Thanks for the reminder! 🙂

  17. Torey says:

    I’ve been reading your posts for quite some time and figured it was about time to comment! This is a great reminder that we need to take time to rest and rejuvenate even when it seems like there’s a hundred other things that can be done. Thanks for your thoughts!

  18. Karolina says:

    Today I rested by sleeping later then my alarm was set…. forcing myself to catch up on some of the sleep I lost this weekend.

  19. Colleen says:

    Great post, Tina!! I’m trying to put myself first more, and relaxation is key. I have the day off today and am catching up on some reading!

  20. LauraJayne says:

    This is such a timely post for me – I’m trying to learn how to relax and rest – not just physically, but mentally too! I find that even when I’m relaxing watching television, I’m always doing something else – studying, blogging, etc! I need to learn how to rest and relax again. I remember that I used to be able too… but I just don’t remember how!

  21. Bahhh!!! I can be guilty of “not resting,” too… even when I try! In the past I’ve been a big multi-tasker, always thinking of my next to-do list in my head. It’s been a goal of mine to be more “present” this year… it’s a work in progress. To say the least. At least I’ve acknowledged it though!

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