How and when do you engage your life in resting that brings refreshment to your mind, body and soul? What interferes with rest currently in your life? I know I can get myself in high gear and then crash in a heap.
Examine the following five ways to engage your life in resting to see what may resonate with you and see how to avoid the crash!
Examine Your Mindset
For me, the most challenging aspect of resting is my mindset. I have always been a doer. I get going in high speed and keep going. There’s always the next project that is calling to me. However, I am slowly learning that pacing, breaks and not working are okay, too. As an entrepreneur, afterall I am my own boss.
The stumbling block is my mindset. I can give myself permission to take a break, to not work this afternoon or take a few days off if the upcoming schedule will be packed. The permission to let myself rest becomes vital.
What does your mind saying to you?
Determine How to Practice Resting
Once you give yourself permission, then what does resting look, like sound like, feel like?
Determining what resting looks like has been a discovery process for me. I have decided resting for me includes:
- short naps
- reading a good mystery book
- coloring adult coloring books
- sitting on my back porch and gazing at lovely oak trees
- doing holy yoga
- enjoying coffee with my husband or a friend
- exploring genealogy or another creative outlet
- playing with my grandchildren
What about you? What is resting for you? What do you give yourself permission to do to relax and or feel restored?
Decide When To Practice Resting
When can resting be included in the daily rhythms of life? This can be the bugaboo as time can quickly evaporate when working on projects. Without programming rest into your calendar, it may not happen.
It sounds funny to have to program in resting. By putting it in your calendar, you have something to look forward to as well as fight that “don’t have time to rest” voice in your head.
The other thing about programming resting in your calendar, you can see when the most busy times of your week or month are and may want to put in that extra resting time.
For example, I have three twelve-hour days coming up on a big project. I realized I needed to add resting time before and after those three days in order to be well-prepared for that particular project. You may not always have control of your schedule that way, but you may be able to not add anything extra.
Discover What Resting Brings to You
What value does resting bring into your life? Slowly I am realizing how important the resting is for my brain. When I keep going, going, going, I feel foggy, mushy-brained the next day. Resting becomes vital then for health and my well-being.
Also, God is gently reminding me that “I will give you rest.” All my work is not dependent on me. I can trust Him to show me the way and trust that work and relationships are all in His hands.
The Take Away
What about you? Which of these five engagement practices for resting resonate with you? How difficult is it for you to include resting in your life? Where will you start to begin to get more resting into your day, week, month?
Your health in a well-nourished life rely on giving yourself permission to include resting in the regular rhythms of life. I would love to come along side you as you begin to explore this area of your life. Let me know how I might be able to support you.
Nancy Booth helps you discard chaos and get unstuck as you journey towards a well-nourished life after 50. She helps you embrace wellness, purpose and intentional relationships in your life. Her coaching process helps you design your own personal roadmap to help you build a healthy, purposeful and peaceful mind, body and soul. She would love to walk your journey with you, the life you’ve always wanted.