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Published by Programme B
We exist in a culture that largely values productivity and accomplishment, but rarely places the necessary value and emphasis on self care and rest. Even though details like self-care and rest can be difficult to commit to on a prolonged basis, especially if you are a very busy person, it’s important to make sure that you are getting enough rest so that you can care for your body and mind the way that you deserve. No matter who you are or what your life journey is, you need to rest just like every other human being on this planet. We all function better when we are well-rested, and here are just a few of the many reasons why.
Prioritizing Yourself
There are various different kinds of rest that are required in order to maintain your health and well-being, but no matter which kind of rest you’re talking about, taking the time to rest and setting boundaries around your other commitments can be an act of prioritizing yourself and your own needs. No matter what, you need to be your first priority so that you can show up for all the other commitments of your life. When you begin to prioritize yourself in one aspect of life, you practice that behavior in order to make it a habit in others.
Supporting Your Mental Health
Although there are many components to supporting your mental health, one of them is taking care of all of your practical needs both so that you can feel more supported and secure, and so that you can experience the physiological benefits of taking care of every system in the body, including your mind. Whether you see a therapist who can help you adapt to more positive coping styles or you simply want to establish a bit more routine to support your mental health and your daily life, making sure that you get enough rest on a regular basis is one of the most important steps that you can take for yourself.
Time and Space to Think
If you live a life of constant busyness, it can be easy to get lost in the routine of things without stopping to think or consider any of your internal feelings. This can be detrimental to your mental and emotional health, especially if it goes on for a while. No matter who you are or what you do, building space and time in your life to think and experience the world around you it’s a part of growing and learning, and it’s crucial to value those things in life.
Allowing Room to Heal
On a physical, mental and emotional level, giving yourself time to rest is necessary for any process of healing. Think about it — When you are sick with a cold, you need time and space to rest in order to recover. The same goes for mental and emotional things as well. Mental and emotional strains can even strain the physical body by causing stress, so it’s important to allow yourself room for healing, which inherently involves rest.
Boosting Productivity
Even though giving yourself time to rest should not ultimately be about productivity, it needs to be mentioned that giving yourself the rest you need will inevitably result in a higher level of productivity at a more sustainable rate than burning yourself out. When you rush through projects and overwork yourself, you will likely cause yourself to burn out, Whereas giving yourself the consistent rest you need allows you to flourish in your productivity and ultimately get more done. This is not to say that productivity is the most important part of giving yourself rest, but it should be noted that it is also the most logical option.
Supporting Your Creativity
Although this is similar to boosting your productivity, it is admittedly a little bit different. Specifically, giving yourself the space to rest, heal and think is a perfect combination to foster creative energy. Whether you are an artist yourself or are you simply want to live a more creative lifestyle for personal satisfaction, making sure that you rest and allow yourself room to lead a healthy life can support that creativity even further. Creativity often comes from the blank spaces between constant going when your mind has the time to wander and explore.
We Should All Be Resting
No matter who you are or what your lifestyle is, everybody needs rest in some form or another in order to function at their best. Rest, sleep, downtime and other means of slowing down and finding a bit of quiet are crucial to leading a healthy lifestyle — and even a more productive one. And learning to prioritize yourself and your rest can even help you practice self care and put yourself first like you deserve. Do you feel like you need more rest nowadays?
Photo by Airam Dato-on from Pexels