As I’ve been connecting with clients, mentors, and friends the last few weeks it feels like everyone has reached a soul level of exhaustion. No matter what they do they can’t seem to shake it. Are you feeling it too?
We’re nearing the end of a very emotionally and physically chaotic year where many people are struggling in one, if not many areas of their lives. The world is incredibly unstable, and we have the choice to be connected to and aware of all of it through the technology at our fingertips.
It may seem counterintuitive, especially as we round the corner to the end of the year and enter into, an often, very busy holiday season, but consider this your permission to let yourself rest and receive nourishment when your body, mind, and soul need it.
But how do you know when you need it? Fighting through is a badge of honor in our society. I’m not saying to not follow through on your commitments to you and those around you. I am suggesting it’s okay to sit on the bench for a bit before you begin again. Many of us judge rest as lazy. As a result, we often aren’t even aware we need it until the major alarm bells like sickness, procrastination, frustration, and grumpiness kick in.
What if it’s not just rest, but moments of lightness that help you literally and figuratively shake the heavy off? Have you ever seen a dog release anxiety? They shake, run, play, get the zoomies, and chew on something, and then rest.
Humans instead tend to pretend we’re fine, ignoring all the cues from our body, only to be overcome with exhaustion which actually is just a nervous system that needs to move the energy through and out of our body.
So rest in this instance can look like: lighthearted laughter with a good friend, a singing dance party in the kitchen, preparing and cooking food that brings you joy and nourishes you, a hike in nature, volunteering at a local garden, authentic vulnerable connection, and also a nice long nap.
As you start to tune into your specific needs for rest and lightness, begin to understand your own cues and ways of communicating, and act on them your self-worth and self-trust increase. If you need more reason than that to rest, the science is unanimous, we make better decisions in all areas of life from this place. We are also able to be more present and connect more authentically with those around us.
What are your favorite ways to nurture you? Or have you denied rest so this is a foreign language? I’d love to know [email protected].
