The “Resting Paradox”

Yesterday I had a call with my coach and I came to him with huge chaos in my mind. There was so much going on, so many things I wanted to do and start but don’t have the time for just yet because of the other projects I need to finish first and there was a good amount of worry sprinkled all over it.

I may be a mindset coach, supporting others to retake control over their lives and walk toward their goals but that doesn’t mean everything goes all perfectly well for me all the time. What I know, I learned by doing and failing and growing and working with a coach myself.

So in this very call, we explored said chaos and towards the end, this paradox really struck me:

We as human beings are so well trained to keep on working and hustling and being busy all the time that self-compassion and rest seem counterintuitive and unnatural.

Yes, this might have gotten us to certain points in life, but at what cost?

Is burnout worth it?
Is being unhappy and feeling unfulfilled worth it?
Is being miserable and not able to find joy worth it?
Aren’t these things what we are hustling for apparently?

There even is a second paradox here: We not only work our bums off all the time in the quest towards happiness whilst burning out as we don’t take breaks, but we also dismiss any possibilities of letting happiness into our lives along the way by doing so!

What we keep ignoring is, that without rest and self-compassion we actually slow down progress and growth, and therefore leave no room to fully enjoy and experience the good in our life. We get lost in our attachment to the goal and forget to reconnect with the present moment. Even though it is all we ever have!

Isn’t this rather self-destructive?

Let’s look t it from a different angle. Apply the analogy of the gym, we train the muscle and rest so it can grow stronger. If we were to keep working out harder and more, we simply would pass out because there is no energy left.

So if you want to be truly productive, you got to rest. If you want to reach another personal best, you got to rest. If you want to be the best at your game of life, you got to rest, so you can come back to your game stronger!

NamaStay RESTING
JD