As I sit in a hotel room this morning, feeling like I need to be productive because I have spare time, it has reminded me of the need for rest. For breathing. For space. For connection. And for myself.
Because I have a busy life (don't we all!) and I am a very driven person. If I want to achieve something, I go all in. And that usually means I just go, go, go and never really stop to rest. Stop to think about how I feel in the moment, always thinking ahead to that next thing, that next goal, that next step.
In my head, rest is sleeping in in the mornings. Having an afternoon off to watch a film. Or going to bed early. And those are a very physical and mental kind of rest, which we all need.
But I have to remind myself that there are different kinds of rest. Rest where I do nothing and space out. Rest where I am alone in a hotel room, doing what I do best. Rest when I play with my nieces. Rest when I see my friends after being apart for six months.
Rest doesn't have to mean lying down on the bed staring at the ceiling and feeling guilty for stopping. Rest can be productive, and productive doesn't have to be career or work-driven.
Productive can look like buying gifts, sitting in a pub for three hours chatting nonsense and catching up, cuddling a new baby, and spending time with my family and friends.
Because the need to feel productive usually means I am feeling the need to achieve something. And when I achieve something, I am spending energy in the moment.
And spending energy with those I love is productive, because it directly feeds into how I feel, act, breathe. It's an investment for the future.
Nobody is going to remember that I spent all morning sitting in a hotel bedroom, in bed, catching up on work and writing this blog post.
What they will remember is that I travelled nearly 300 miles and took three days off work so I could see three of my best friends (two of them with a new baby) just to spend time together.
Because that's what matters.
Rest is productive. Rest is what fills up our cups. Rest is what allows us time to breathe. Rest is the antithesis of stress.
So I am choosing rest today. In the form of spending time with my friends and cuddling a new tiny human. I hope you choose a moment or two of rest today too, whatever that looks like for you.
