Full Journal Content
Okay, it's been a while since I wrote anything in here and I've been dying to yap to this little corner of the internet! I've been feeling a bit tired, and possibly burned out. However, I'm not sure how to rest? The way I've always rested is by doing something I enjoy. Maybe I need to tone things down and do something passive, like watching a show or reading more? But my problem is that my concentration is so bad when I'm not actively thinking or moving my hands, and that makes "rest" feel like another task I'm failing at.
I think that's the sneaky thing about burnout, it convinces you that even your body's natural signals are chores. Like, how dare you be tired? Didn't you drink enough coffee today? Didn't you push through yesterday? Shouldn't you have earned rest by accomplishing more? But here's what I'm slowly realizing: rest doesn't have to be pretty, productive, or even all that entertaining. Sometimes rest is staring at the ceiling for 15 minutes. Sometimes it's putting your phone on the other side of the room so your brain can breathe. Sometimes it's crying into your pillow and calling that "resetting your emotional Wi-Fi."
Maybe the point isn’t how we rest, but that we let ourselves. Without needing to justify it. Without turning it into another checklist item. Because the truth is, you can’t logic or hustle your way out of exhaustion. You can only soften into it
So if you’re like me—bad at resting, good at overthinking—maybe start small. Close your eyes. Take three slow breaths. Allow silence to be enough. Because you don’t have to earn your right to pause. You’re human. And humans, like phones, like laptops, like literally everything else—need to recharge too.
And maybe, just maybe, the world won’t fall apart if you let yourself stop for a while.