Fixing a Routine that Demands our Rest

In our day in age, there seems to be not nearly enough hours in a day. Between working our way up the corporate ladder, caring for our families, spending time with friends, seeing to our extra responsibilities, running errands, maintaining a social life, and attempting to revive any creative outlets, our days are quite literally spent. It would come as no surprise, then, that any period of rest is overshadowed by our determination to juggle all our responsibilities and interests. But, as we step into everything that this new year has in store for us, finding this period of rest is absolutely essential in order to maintain the drive to achieve every goal and aspiration we have set before us.The Oxford English Dictionary defines rest as an action in which you “cease work or movement in order to relax or recover strength; allow [yourself] to be inactive in order to regain strength or health.” Finding a time of physical rest, then, is essential for our lives. If we do not find time to rest our bodies and to allow our minds to unwind, we will not be able to offer all of our energy to our efforts that demand our best performance. We all may be able to recall a time in our lives when found that in our pursuits, our energy had been spent and when our efforts had grown weary. These are the times when we have pushed our bodies and our minds to perform beyond what they were capable of. Despite the warning signs, the signals of exhaustion, weariness, and depletion that grew a certain inaptitude in our performance, we pushed our bodies and our minds to achieve more, to go further, and to surpass any limitation we saw set before us. There came a point in these instances, however, when our efforts could not measure up to the standards of our desires. There came a time when our bodies and our minds had had enough. So, we accepted defeat, we succumbed to disappointment, and, ultimately, we were left wondering why we could not measure up. Though there is raw beauty and true meaning that is revealed in the midst of defeat, and in carrying on in spite of defeat, there are prevention measures we can take to assure that we give of our best selves in order to pursue the most beautifully genuine and unique dreams that we have set before us. One of the most important ways that we can set prevention measures for ourselves is by first acknowledging when we need rest and by then assuring that we get that rest. According to a study by the University of Washington, rest “is an important part of a healthy lifestyle for all ages. It rejuvenates your body and mind, regulates your mood, and is linked to learning and memory function. On the other hand, not getting enough rest can negatively affect your mood, immune system, memory, and stress level.” In order to chase after our dreams, to pursue our ambitions to their fullest potential, we need to give our bodies and minds the opportunity to rest and prepare for all that we are asking of them. In order to continually set ambitious goals for this year ahead, we need to allow ourselves time to rest in order that we may be in the best posture of creating dreams for ourselves and of setting intentions of pursuing those dreams. After realizing the importance of allowing ourselves daily physical and mental rest, we must, then, create the space in which we find rest and solace. A couple months ago, in the weariness of the unpredictable time of emerging adulthood, I was advised to go to the beach every day. Here, I was told, I would find a time of clarity, simplicity, wonder, peace, and inspiration. Now, the beach is not a magical place that would captivate my thoughts and spirit into this sense of peace and tranquility, but it is the place where I, personally, would go to devote time to my own thoughts. It is the place where I would go to pause the business of life’s demands and, moreover, it is the place where I would free myself of every intention, pressure, and aspiration I was placing on my life. Immediately upon hearing this, my mind started to conjure the many reasons why I should not go to the beach every day-- the beach is too far to go just to sit and think for half an hour, people will think I am just wasting my time, I should be spending that time on countless other things. But, why not go somewhere out of my way, even just to think? What was holding me back from allowing myself to have this time of rest? Is it fear of changing my habit? Is it fear of what people would think of me? Is it fear of what that time of rest would bring, what change would come out of it, or what inspiration would be prompted from it? Why do we fear rest? Why do we think ourselves unworthy of rest? What is holding us back from going to the beach every day, taking a walk in the park, or driving somewhere, despite the inconvenience, so as to set intentional time that we would use just for ourselves?Creating the spaces and times of rest for ourselves may seem impossible amid the demand of our own thoughts and the intimidation of society’s standards, pressures, and constructs. However, assuring the existence of these spaces and periods of rest in our lives is absolutely essential for the growth of our dreams and the fruition of our ambitions. Knowing the importance of this rest and what it can do for our dreams, intentions, and aspirations, we must prepare these spaces, we must go out of our way to assure these times of rest, and we must shake up our habits in order to allow the freedom of our thoughts. So, go to the beach, take a walk through the park, go out for a jog, wake up ten, thirty, forty-five minutes earlier. Create and continually assure this time of rest for yourself, not only because your dreams and aspirations deserve the fullness of your intention, but because you deserve the fullness of your intention. Allow yourself to rest in the uncomfortable yet wholly beautiful silence and stillness of your thoughts, for in that time of rest, you may discover uncovered truth and revealed treasure for your spirit in the pursuit of every one of your dreams.