My Relationship with Resting

I used to think rest was the opposite of progress.
If I wasn’t productive, I thought I was falling behind.
That mindset got me far but slowly it began to hinder my progress.

There were weeks where I was exhausted but kept pushing even though I probably shouldn't have: late nights, running at 3 AM, too much caffeine. Eventually, I hit that wall everyone warns you about: I was burnt out.

So I tried something new and began to rest, this time on purpose. Not because I was forced to, but because I wanted to. I took a few evenings where I didn’t do anything except sit with my red light therapy machine and breathe. No agenda, no goal, just rest.

At first, it felt wrong. Like I was wasting time.
But then I noticed how good my body felt after. How clear my thoughts were the next morning, my brain fog magically disappearing.
That’s when I understood: rest isn’t a reward for working hard, but rather it’s part of the work.

Now I treat recovery just as high as doing the actual work.
Some nights I’ll stretch, sit in front of my ginormous machine, and think about my day.
It’s not fancy. It’s not perfect.
But it’s real and it’s what keeps me from burning out again.