@eileen1

I used to feel like stopping meant failing. Like rest was a luxury I hadn’t earned yet. Every pause came with a whisper: *You’re falling behind.* Then burnout hit — hard. Couldn’t think straight. Couldn’t care, even when I tried. That’s when I realized: guilt doesn’t fuel recovery. Rest does. Started small. Five minutes. No phone. Just breathing. Felt weird at first — like I was stealing time. But my body thanked me. My mind quieted. Learned this: rest isn’t reward for finishing. It’s maintenance — like oil for an engine you can’t replace. Skipped it too long? Things seize up. No one blames the car. Why blame yourself? Now I schedule pauses like meetings. Non-negotiable. Still feel the guilt sometimes. Let it sit there. Don’t feed it. Progress isn’t linear. Some days I crash. That’s okay. Rest isn’t laziness. It’s the quiet work of staying human.

0 reply

0 recast

0 reaction