hey yeah you put the phone down for a second well don't actually put it down this is YouTube I need the views but mentally pause just breathe for a second you good okay because I've got something to tell you and I promise it's not going to be another motivational talk that leaves you feeling worse than before this isn't about grinding harder or waking up at 400 a.m. to conquer the planet n this is about something your soul has probably been craving for a while now you ready you need to learn to rest like really rest
deeply intentionally the kind of rest that doesn't just recharge your phone battery but recharges you not just so you feel better but so you can become dangerous again yeah I said it rest so well it makes you dangerous you see somewhere along the way we all bought into this lie that rest is laziness that if you're not constantly doing producing proving you're falling behind so now most of us rest like criminals guiltily secretly with one eye open scrolling on your phone while binge watching a show you're not even enjoying feeling guilty the whole time for
not being productive that's not rest that's digital Purgatory real rest isn't just the absence of doing it's the presence of peace the return of you your mind your body your heart coming back online and look I'm not judging I've been there burnt out stretched thin telling myself I just need to push through this one last thing like that's not the 400th one last thing this week you ever been so tired that even when you sleep your dreams are just you replying to emails yeah that's not rest that's your brain crying for help in spreadsheet form
let me tell you a story one of my favorites there was this young guy who wanted to be the best wood cutter in the village he trained practiced sharpened his axe did all the things one day he challenged an older Lumberjack to a wood cutting contest sunup to sundown whoever chops the most wood wins the young guy goes hard all day doesn't stop he looks over every hour and sees the old man sitting down drinking tea even napping at one point and he's thinking I've got this in the bag this dude's wasting time sun sets
they weigh the wood the old man wins young gu like how I never stopped you took breaks and the old man smiles and says yes but every time I sat down I sharpened my axe boom that story lives rentree in my brain because that's the power of real rest it doesn't make you soft soft it makes you sharp focused present rest isn't the enemy of progress it's what makes progress sustainable but the problem is we don't rest we numb we escape we distract we shove food in our mouths while standing we scroll through 17 social
media apps while lying in bed we watch four episodes of a show and don't remember a single plotline that's not rest that's sedation that's your brain hitting the emergency off switch because it knows you won't you ever wake up more tired than when you went to bed yeah that's not sleep that's a system reboot after a crash and let's be honest most of us are running on fumes smiling through the exhaustion like a haunted Chuck-E-Cheese animatronic so here's my question for you when was the last time you actually felt awake not just not asleep I
mean Fully Alive clear peaceful like you could look around and say yeah I'm here I'm okay that's rare right but it shouldn't be because when you're rested you think better you love better you laugh more you say no to things that drain you and yes to the stuff that lights you up you stop reacting out of survival mode and start responding with wisdom you stop snapping at your partner over nothing forgetting where you put your keys or losing hours of your day to nonsense you become you again but rest doesn't happen by accident you can't
wait until you crash to finally take care of yourself that's like waiting to drink water until you pass out rest is proactive you build it in you protect it you fight for it like your life depends on it because honestly it kind of does and I get it you're busy life is demanding but let me lovingly say this you don't have time not to rest you don't have time to keep running on empty making decisions with a foggy mind and a fried nervous system because tired you is not the best you tired you is forgetful
grumpy reactive tired you thinks everything is a crisis and everyone is out to get you but rested you that's a whole different energy rested you is thoughtful clear funny again creative bold rested you has boundaries rested you remembers what matters rested you starts showing up with a calm power that turns heads you walk different when your soul isn't limping and the Beautiful Thing rest doesn't have to mean a twoe vacation in the Maldives although if someone's offering call me sometimes rest is 15 minutes of silence before the day starts a walk with no podcast in
your ears eating lunch without a screen turning your phone off at 8:00 p.m. just to sit with your thoughts and realizing you don't have to fix everything tonight sometimes rest is laughing with someone who gets you sometimes it's a nap that you don't apologize for sometimes it's saying I'm not available for that right now and without explaining your whole life story that's not selfish that's wisdom you are not a machine you're not a Content Factory you're not a list of tasks you are a human being and you have limits honoring them doesn't make you weak
it makes you wise you ever noticed that animals know when to rest a lion doesn't feel guilty for napping 20 hours a day a cat will sleep on your laptop while you work completely unbothered but we we will literally collapse while saying I'm fine just tired so here's your gentle reminder from me your friendly neighborhood narrator take the nap breathe deep turn off the noise say no let the dishes sit in the sink for a few hours the world won't fall apart and if it does at least you'll be well rested when it happens stare
at the ceiling pet your dog hug someone for longer than usual let your shoulders drop give your nervous system a break from always being on because when you rest well you return different you return grounded calm focused cleare eyed fully charged and that version of you that version is dangerous dangerous to burnout dangerous to people pleasing dangerous to fear dangerous to anything that told you your worth is tied to your productivity so go sharpen your AE my friend the world's going to need it but first rest like your power depends on it because it does
