Practices to find more balance between work and rest.

Many of us are still operating old stories and programs around what it means to pause. The idea of taking a break and resting has been deemed lazy, unnecessary, and even a waste of quality time in which you could be doing more work. As if you may fall behind if you were to stop and pause.

For far too long we were told that the only way to succeed was to work really hard, to out work the competition. Now, don’t get me wrong, hard work is a huge part of being successful, but it doesnt have to come at the sacrifice of your physical, mental or emotional well-being. There is a reason that so many of us feel broken and overwhelmed and this reason is the lack of balance in our interpretation of what it takes to get ahead.

What happens when we neglect to pause?

The idea that taking a break is being lazy has got-to-go! Life without pauses, without rest, leaves us feeling overwhelmed and taxes our entire human system. If we don’t intentionally take breaks, we break.

The push to outwork one another leads to humans overworking and creating from an unbalanced and forced energy, where often less than ideal outcomes are produced, which can lead to the need for more work to fix mistakes and course correct.

Work is considered a masculine, yang energy. Rest is the feminine, yin energy that brings balance to the go, go, go, do, do, do energy of work. I don’t need to explain what life looks and feels like without balance as we’ve all felt it. Overwhelmed, tired, drained, frustrated by all the work. Couple this with the guilt and shame of taking time off and pausing and we are left conducting life from an unstable and wobbly place.

Lets take this idea into more than just our 9 to 5 endeavors.

Without rest our bodies will start to fail.
Without pauses in consuming decadent treats the body starts to become unbalanced.
Without breaks from exercise the results start to slow and injuries arise.
Without taking breaks from screens our nervous system never learns to return from the heightened states that constant consumption brings.
Without breaks from constant pushing our emotional body takes over and leads us to react emotionally to life, making decisions that might not align with our long term goals.
Without breaks we end up in tunnel vision which may or may not be leading you down the right tunnel.
Without taking pauses we never really integrate what we are learning, its simply on to the next, resulting in very surface level living.

Life is intentionally a long journey.

The school of earth is designed to challenge and teach us our whole life time, which for the average human is 80+ years. Imagine taking an 80 year quest through a mountain range. No one in their right mind would think that they would make it through that journey without taking breaks to fuel up, to allow the body to recover, and to pause and reflect on the previous trek of the journey. It is in the pause that we gather our thoughts and energy to keep going! Therefore, it can be concluded that there is actually momentum being cultivated in the pause and that movement does not always equal success.

Instead can you simply notice when a pause is needed. Take some time to look around at the current view on your mountain trek, acknowledging all of the hard work you've already done to get there. Taking a pause to think logically and clearly about the next phase, the next steps. Then once you have regained your strength and clarity you can once again hit the trail with extra vigor and clarity.

When to pause:

When you feel drained and fatigued.
When you are in pain.
When you feel overwhelmed.
When you notice slower gains from your hard work.
When you feel like you’ve hit a lot of resistance.
When you feel you’ve been here before, spinning in circles, or repeating mistakes.

What pauses can look like:

Short breaks from long tasks.
Taking a walk.
Sitting in nature.
Mindfulness or mediation practices.
Naps.
Vacations.
Switching tasks.
Taking time away from a really big project.
Tending to hobbies.
Taking things off your calendar.
Creating time blocks in your week for rest.
Taking time away from your current form of exercise.
Taking a digital detox - break from screens.
Spending time solo.

Granting ourselves permission to pause.

Yes, it is the old programming that has led to this imbalance. But, once we are aware of old programming it becomes our responsibility to de-program and re-program into new ways of thinking and being.

Journaling or talking out where your programming came from (parents, teachers, bosses, society, etc.) is the first step.

Next, forgive anyone involved as they too are on this journey.

Then, begin noticing when you are ready for a pause and do your best to take one, even if it is the smallest lil babiest pause.

You can use any of the following mantras to allow this new programming to feel safe and achievable.

I deserve to create and savor moments of lightness in my day.
I give myself permission to rest.
By taking breaks, I am actually being more productive.
I have the power to find clarity in my own stillness.
I have the power to protect and renew my energy.

You deserve to feel good and inviting in more pauses will only bring more balance.