Rest is absolutely important. Yet, for us workaholics, it’s outrageously difficult to do. Some of us find our worth or our confidence in our work and even on sabbath days, I feel so anxious not working.
A few weeks ago, I had finished all my to-do’s. My week concluded with a sense of accomplishment and all I wanted and waited for all week was my day off.
And when I finally finished everything, I found I did not know how. I thought about practicing piano, practicing Italian, or working on vocal exercises. It’s incredible what you want to make yourself do when you have time.
See, to me simply doing nothing felt like wasting time. I tried the Netflix-all-day or movies-all-night and it’s never been satisfying. This is because stopping work does not equal rest.
Yep, you heard me right. Stopping work does not equal rest.
Stephanie May Wilson’s podcast Girls Night featured Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith in an episode called “How to Rest: A Guide for the Woman who Feels Stressed and Burned Out” and I immediately had to listen.
According to Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, not doing work does not mean that you are resting.
Rest is doing something restorative (makes sense, right?). When we don’t feel rested after a long weekend, it means we are not being restored at least 1 of the 7 ways one can rest.
In her book Sacred Rest, Dr. Dalton-Smith discusses the 7 types of rest that is often lacking in people.
7 Types of Rest
- Physical: There’s active rest and passive rest. Active rest is doing things to relax your body such as working out. Passive rest is sleeping.
- Spiritual: This deals with your relationship with God.
- Mental: This refers to having mental quietness and removing busyness from your mind.
- Emotional: This refers to venting and feeling emotionally accepted.
- Sensory: This is where you can allow your senses to quiet by reducing input/stimulation.
- Creative: This is allowing beauty to create something within you.
- Social: This is where you surround yourself with life-giving people rather than people who always need something from you.
Ways to Recharge
- Journal and vent your thoughts out
- Get an adult coloring book to color in
- Go outside and get into nature
- Do yoga and take deep, uninterrupted breaths
- Do something with friends who don’t need anything from you
- Get some alone time and allow yourself to breathe
- Work out without rushing
At my current job, I am endlessly exerting myself socially, creatively and engaging in high amounts of sensory input. I was finding that no amount of sleep or binge-watching felt restful and I didn’t want to be around people who needed anything.
Do you ever feel like that? Like your patience has worn thin by the end of each day?
Well, this is all because I had enough physical rest but I needed to recharge and restore my well-being in other areas. After listening to this podcast, I realized that even when I lacked physical rest when I was running around Europe for 2 weeks, I felt completely rested because every other area was being recharged.
I’m all about living intentionally and doing things that make us feel better within. External and internal health and well-being is a huge part of my life and I hope you take some time today to think about how you care your body. If you’re looking for a pick-me-up, here are Ways to Feel Better Today.
