Word: Rest

Sentence:

The best gift you can give yourself is the space and time to rest.

Passage:

Exercise science has come a long way. We know now that muscles do not grow from the weight we lift. They grow in the rest and recovery that follows. Without enough rest, muscles get overworked, and over time you can actually lose strength instead of gaining it.

Our purpose and passions are no different than biceps and triceps. When we work them, they get stronger. But they also need time to recover from the grind of life, people, and work.

When I was younger it was work hard and play hard. There was always one more event, one more late night email, one more game or gathering. Rest felt like a waste of time. Looking back, I can see the toll it took when I did not give myself space to recover, reflect, and reset.

Thirteen years in, when I finally got the principal job I had been chasing, I found another gear I did not know I had. But it came with a cost. Less time with my kid. Less time for me. The job pulled me further from the center of who I was. My sense of worth got wrapped up in how many hours I could log and how much I could carry for the school. I kept giving everyone else more access and gave myself less.

It is hard for many of us to rest. The digital world is always calling. The to-do list never ends. And if we slow down, we might have to sit with feelings we would rather avoid. So we keep moving. We tell ourselves that constant work equals value. We even take vacations and still check our email, just to prove we are needed.

As we move into the one stretch of the year when the world actually slows down and many jobs pause, we have a rare chance. We can choose real rest. Not just scrolling. Not numbing out. Actual recovery. Time with people we love. Time with ourselves. Time where no one needs anything from us.

Rest is not selfish. It is how we make sure we still have something to give when the hard moments come. When we protect our recovery, we protect our purpose.

Your Turn:

What would it mean for you to see rest as part of the work, not something you earn after the work is done?

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