Stop Glamorizing the “Grind”
When did rest become a luxury? Why does our society put so much pressure to be busy 24/7? Being busy does not = Productivity. I think it does quite the opposite. Many of us overwork ourselves to distract ourselves from other things. I used to overbook and overwork myself constantly. I thought this was healthy. I thought this made me a hard worker. Not the case. I wasn’t being productive; I denied myself time to be alone with my thoughts.
When I took a step back, I realized that I could have been getting my work done in almost half the time. I was prolonging it because I felt like I was failing if I wasn’t working. Once I realized that I could still be successful, WHILE making time in the day for little things that brought me joy, the game changed.
We live in a society that glamorizes a non-stop work ethic, calendars filled to the brim, and living off of caffeine. This is toxic.
We were not put on this earth to work 24/7, burn out, and then die. Allow yourself time to experience the little joys in life. Find what makes you feel the most alive and then schedule time in your day to do those things.
Do you ignore your body when it tells you it’s thirsty? No, you drink water. Do you ignore your body when you need to pee? No, you go to the bathroom. SO, why do we ignore our body when it tells us to rest. Rest is a necessary part of a productive life.
Once you learn that resting is a basic human function, you might just realize that it will aid you throughout other parts of your life. When your body feels nourished you will most likely work better. You will be more aware and energized. Resting is essential to reach to become your best self.
I schedule my days with specific times to get my work done and specific times for me. When I started incorporating time to read, write, go on walks, and embrace life, it showed in my career. When you do things that make you happy, it will reflect on other areas of your life.
We aren’t meant to sit at a desk every day for the rest of our lives and then die. We need to stop glamorizing getting four hours of sleep a night, running off caffeine, and having one meal a day.
Let’s start glamorizing sleeping in when your body needs rest, turning off your work email past 5 p.m., taking yourself on solo dates, and fueling your body with things that make you feel good.
You only get one life. Don’t just go through the motions trying to meet our society’s f*cked up standards.