Feel guilty sitting on the couch, taking the day off, or even saying no to something? You’re not alone. These scenarios lead to a cycle of guilt, overworking, burnout, repeat. Today we’re talking about why rest feels so hard, why we tie our worth to productivity, and how to finally break the cycle.

The mindset trap

It’s not your fault if you’ve fallen into this trap. Our society and the culture we look towards as women teaches us that hustle = success. Social media glorifies ‘busy’. So many of the women you see on social media are constantly doing, and they are doing it ALL. They have time to work out, prepare beautiful meals, do everything for their children, their spouse, and then some. We look at this as the golden standard. But truly, this isn’t real life. This leads us to believe “If I’m not doing, I’m not enough”.

Why guilt creeps in

Unfortunately, guilt happens often. But I want to be clear that guilt is not a sign of actual wrongdoing. The problem is that most of us have a productivity addiction. If we do more, we are more valuable. The truth is, slowing down and resting doesn’t mean you are lazy. 

I very regularly take days of rest. In fact, I recently took months of rest from my podcast. When I work with women, it’s important to know that rest is part of your health journey. It is just as important as what you eat, your movement, and your mindset. Rest is absolutely necessary to successfully reach any goals you have for yourself.

The cost of staying in hustle mode

Physical burnout and emotional burnout are 2 of the most common ways hustle hurts your body. Physical burnout feels like exhaustion and can lead to poor health. Obviously, you don’t want this if you’re on a health journey or trying to live a healthier lifestyle. When it comes to emotional burnout, this can look like irritability and lack of joy.

When experiencing either of these types of burnout, you lose things like being present with your family and friends, and you really lose room for creativity and growth.

How to break the cycle

I want to share with you practical steps that you can try to break through this cycle. Start with reframing rest as an investment, not a luxury. Next, set “do nothing” boundaries, intentional pauses in your week. This may mean that on Wednesday evening, you have an hour where you sit and rest. This might seem hard at first; you are probably not used to it, but with practice, this will be a crucial step in getting you out of the guilt cycle.

Remember, your value isn’t based on what you do in a day.

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