Do Yourself a Favor and Take a Break
The last few months really hit me out of nowhere. I believed I was in a good and healthy space, but then all of a sudden — that wasn’t the case. For most of us, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected us all in unique ways, some of which we’re still working to understand and adequately navigate.
I had to not only come to the realization, but also feel comfortable with the fact that sometimes the most productive thing you can do for yourself is to take a break.
Sounds a bit backwards right? How can you be “productive” while you’re not actively “producing” — whether that be in your relationships, friendships, your job, as a parent, as a student?
A few months back, even with how much I encourage and strive to practice self-care, with how good I thought I felt… I could feel myself approaching what felt like burnout. Honestly, I was on the verge of a downward-spiral.
It took me a while to realize, but ultimately, with a new level of understanding I decided to stop, take a step back and work to visualize everything from a renewed perspective.
A break doesn’t always equate to doing “nothing.” While that can be beneficial sometimes, I like to use these moments to slow down and re-center, making things more efficient moving forward. I personally have taken time to disconnect, pay attention to my needs, organize my thoughts, better manage my time & efforts, plan efficiently and actually pour into myself over the last few months.
Oftentimes, you are the only person who can advocate for yourself in this way. Many of us are literal pros at “keeping it all together” while inside we’re falling apart. People tell us that we are “killing it,” but we feel numb and/or inadequate on the inside. How is that and can that continue to be a sustainable way to live?
There is no way to be productive when you’ve lost yourself.
If you’re doing a good job of “keeping it all together,” it’s sometimes difficult even for the people who love you most to become aware, call you out (lovingly, of course) and help you in choosing yourself. Oftentimes, it’s on you. It’s personal.
We live in a society where we are constantly surrounded by the “next best thing.” It’s almost like we are conditioned to be unsatisfied with our current state, and rather, be constantly striving for what’s next. I mean think about it — are you in college, a graduate program, your first job or living out your desired career/life goals right now? How long did you pray to get to where you are currently? How large was the magnitude of your efforts that it took to get there?
You are literally living a dream that your previous self may have once seen as a distant achievement — one that may have never happened.
In living that dream, are you already consumed with what’s next or are you learning to grow, evolve and learn in the space you are now?
Today I’m encouraging you to take the break, use the PTO, say “yes” to the vacation, catch up with your “people,” schedule the massage, hone into your version of self care and simply do what your soul needs.
What’s made for you will always be for you — without a doubt. Put simply, it’s hard to know what’s for you when you’ve lost yourself in spaces and surrounded by people which do not support your true destiny.
At the end of the day, you are the only person who can advocate for YOU. You have to make a choice — is it necessary to put yourself first in order to ultimately attain and achieve all that you see for yourself? Taking a break may allow you to visualize things from a renewed perspective and to refine aspects of your life that are causing you to live outside your purpose.
You deserve to choose yourself, to love yourself (even when that means taking a break) — every. single. day.
“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes… including you.”
- Anne Lamott
If taking a break allows you the space to continue becoming the best version of yourself, isn’t that productive in itself? You’ve got this & I’m rooting for you — always.
