ThrivingLilly

In todays day and age, why does it feel like we are doing something wrong if we have time to rest? It’s like people wear fatigue as a badge of honor. There was a weekend I was so excited to have a movie marathon, like that was my plan for the weekend and you know what the overwhelming response was, “wow I wish I had time to sit down and watch a movie.” Like what?! Has being busy really become the barometer for success.

The internet can also be part of the issue with this change in thinking. Not only can you compare yourself to others, but the internet also makes it so easy for us to be working 24/7. Oh I have a free second while out and about let me check my email or respond to a comment on my social media, instead of oh let me people watch on this bench or enjoy the sound of the ocean. With everything at our fingertips, it seems like we should be doing everything all the time. But the reality is, that rest is productive, and our society has just propagandized the opposite.

We are told from infancy that work is what will provide us with our biggest dreams, but not everything has to be so hard. Not everything has to be done as soon as possible. Sometimes the most productive thing we can do it take a nap, or put down the task and come back later.

This all sounds so easy in theory but when you go to practice it, it can turn into a rather difficult task. Its not only society and the world around us, but it is also those internal factors that we grew up hearing. Maybe someone called you lazy once, or pushed you into doing more than you thought you could and it worked out positively. Now you always think, if I can push just a little longer, if I can work just another 5 minutes, I will get my goals. We have learned to ignore that little voice saying, hey, you should stop and eat, or you need to sit down. But getting more in tune with our needs and ourselves can make not only a huge difference in our individual goals, but also our goals as a society. Because the fact is, rest and even relaxation is a productive thing to do.