Of rest and relaxation
Published Nov 6, 2021 12:12 am
ITS THE SMALL THING
As creatures of the 21st century and as Hollywood has glamorized the grind, I feel like we were all pre-disposed to believe that rest is overrated, and hustling is the way to go. Admittedly, I used to be one of those people. Pre-pandemic, I was someone who would freak out if my day was not jam-packed full back to back with meetings, socials, the list goes on. Like all things in life, I have realized that the only true key to productivity (and eventually success) is balance. I am by no means undermining hard work – in fact, I am a believer that it is the ultimate key to succeeding in anything we do. Rather, I am here to talk about why rest, in my opinion, actually is not for the weak, and why we actually need it to optimize our output as human beings. It is in fact complementary to working hard.
As the pandemic struck and as work from home became the new norm for so many of us, it was quite the adjustment to say the very least. From seeing each other physically almost daily to having to rely on virtual means was a huge change for many. For many, work from home blurred the boundaries of fixed time – instead of office hours, because there was no more separation between work and home, and because we were confined to our homes, a lot of people found themselves working more and at some point, burning both ends of the stick. As if the uncertainties and stresses the pandemic brought about were not enough, people found themselves exhausted and fatigued out of their wits. Burn out became a common and widely used term, and with that, even if many were overcompensating with vitamins and their physical health, a lot of people realized that they were neglecting their mental, spiritual and emotional health.
To an extent, we are all products of what the media portrays and beautifies. In other words, our everyday actions and decisions tend to be dictated and driven – consciously, subconsciously or unconsciously – by what the media deems to be desirable, or at the very least acceptable. It takes a lot of strength and courage actually not to jump into the bandwagon, and even if a lot of us do not have the desire to, we inevitably find ourselves zapped by that vacuum. Which brings me back to the initial point of this article, rest. Our generation has been pre-conditioned to believe that the hustle is where it is at, oftentimes neglecting our overall health, wellness and well-being. So much so that pre-pandemic, the hardest of workers would even show up to work sick on some days because “it is nothing.” Today, we realize, that in doing so, we were also endangering the health of our co-workers. It is okay to rest. In fact, there is value in rest.
There is a reason that doctors tell us getting enough quality hours of sleep is most beneficial to our health. Our bodies, and our minds, need to recover from the everyday grind. Even on days where we seemingly may not have done much physically, our minds are always active – we are always thinking, worrying, contemplating, reflecting, you name it. We underestimate the power of our mind, and the work we put it through on a daily basis. Just like any well-oiled machine, it too needs its rest. And it is oftentimes when it is overworked and over-fueled that our output tends to suffer and slow down. It is when no matter how hard we work (sometimes even harder) we just cannot seem to crank anything out. The answer is rest. Quality rest. And the kind of rest where we free our minds of worry even for a little bit. Just enough time to give it time to re-charge. May we never forget this. Even when the hustle begins to build up again, and the grind becomes a real thing.
As creatures of the 21st century and as Hollywood has glamorized the grind, I feel like we were all pre-disposed to believe that rest is overrated, and hustling is the way to go. Admittedly, I used to be one of those people. Pre-pandemic, I was someone who would freak out if my day was not jam-packed full back to back with meetings, socials, the list goes on. Like all things in life, I have realized that the only true key to productivity (and eventually success) is balance. I am by no means undermining hard work – in fact, I am a believer that it is the ultimate key to succeeding in anything we do. Rather, I am here to talk about why rest, in my opinion, actually is not for the weak, and why we actually need it to optimize our output as human beings. It is in fact complementary to working hard.
As the pandemic struck and as work from home became the new norm for so many of us, it was quite the adjustment to say the very least. From seeing each other physically almost daily to having to rely on virtual means was a huge change for many. For many, work from home blurred the boundaries of fixed time – instead of office hours, because there was no more separation between work and home, and because we were confined to our homes, a lot of people found themselves working more and at some point, burning both ends of the stick. As if the uncertainties and stresses the pandemic brought about were not enough, people found themselves exhausted and fatigued out of their wits. Burn out became a common and widely used term, and with that, even if many were overcompensating with vitamins and their physical health, a lot of people realized that they were neglecting their mental, spiritual and emotional health.
To an extent, we are all products of what the media portrays and beautifies. In other words, our everyday actions and decisions tend to be dictated and driven – consciously, subconsciously or unconsciously – by what the media deems to be desirable, or at the very least acceptable. It takes a lot of strength and courage actually not to jump into the bandwagon, and even if a lot of us do not have the desire to, we inevitably find ourselves zapped by that vacuum. Which brings me back to the initial point of this article, rest. Our generation has been pre-conditioned to believe that the hustle is where it is at, oftentimes neglecting our overall health, wellness and well-being. So much so that pre-pandemic, the hardest of workers would even show up to work sick on some days because “it is nothing.” Today, we realize, that in doing so, we were also endangering the health of our co-workers. It is okay to rest. In fact, there is value in rest.
There is a reason that doctors tell us getting enough quality hours of sleep is most beneficial to our health. Our bodies, and our minds, need to recover from the everyday grind. Even on days where we seemingly may not have done much physically, our minds are always active – we are always thinking, worrying, contemplating, reflecting, you name it. We underestimate the power of our mind, and the work we put it through on a daily basis. Just like any well-oiled machine, it too needs its rest. And it is oftentimes when it is overworked and over-fueled that our output tends to suffer and slow down. It is when no matter how hard we work (sometimes even harder) we just cannot seem to crank anything out. The answer is rest. Quality rest. And the kind of rest where we free our minds of worry even for a little bit. Just enough time to give it time to re-charge. May we never forget this. Even when the hustle begins to build up again, and the grind becomes a real thing.