Do the words “take a day off” scare you?

If you’re someone who has a lot of goals and ambitions to manifest, it might sound like it. You might have the idea that we always have to be on the go in order to gain success. It’s a very common mindset which is popular in American culture.

In America, we pride ourselves on being workaholics. We work overtime, multi-task, and become bombarded with projects just to prove that we can do it all. We’re superhumans who know how to take on the world. This idea has been ingrained in our minds for years that without question, we’ve grown to believe it’s the only way to be the best.

This concept can apply to anything from work, art, nutrition, fitness, the list can go on. We work and train all day every day without stopping to reach our personal goals because we want to prove to ourselves that we can handle it. But what if that was actually hindering you from meeting your goals?

Here is the honest truth about reaching your goals: untrue?

Taking a day off is necessary for success.

Stunned? Trust me I was too in the beginning.

Growing up with a Marine Corp. dad, my siblings and I were busy playing sports, going to school, studying, doing anything that was productive. We barely had any downtime because we were taught that downtime was a waste of time.

It wasn’t until a fitness coach of mine broke down the rest day to a science, it made sense. A rest day is just as important as working out. Why?

It’s an equal part of the process. A rest day is required to build strength, endurance, and muscle. In fitness, when you’re in an exercise routine you’re going to have days when you’re sore. You’ll have aches and pains in your body because you’re breaking down muscle tissue. This means the body needs time to heal in order to for your muscles, nerves, and tissue to rebuild and recover.

The same thing happens with the brain. If you are constantly on the go working non-stop, your brain will automatically zone out or turn off on its own. The brain will literally let YOU know “Listen I need a break.”

Without rest, we’re more likely to have negative results than positive ones.

Just like our cellphones need to recharge, so do human beings.

We need those days where we can shut off and just be. We need those days where we get off the computer for a while and go out for a walk. To put your phone down and read a book. Take some time to just unwind and heal yourself, body and mind. You’d be surprised how amazing you’ll feel the next day. However since this concept of resting is actually a good thing, why don’t we do it?

We’ve grown to think that rest is not a part of self-care when in reality…it is!

Human beings have been taught to not listen to their bodies. We feel guilty if we take a day off because we’ll think that we are wasting the time of that our goals will be out of reach. But remember that you’re body is a tool; an amazing awesome machine that will work for you day and night as long as you take care of it. If you don’t take care of your body it’ll crash and burn.

Take care of yourself the way you deserve.

Your goals and dreams will be there when you come back. And once you are recharged, relaxed, and centered, you’ll be ready to tackle those goals with more energy and excitement than ever before. You’ll never have to worry about running out of steam. So add some rest days in your calendar with the thought that you ARE working towards your goals. Those rest days ARE actually helping you achieve greatness.

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Til next time,

Photo by Brent Gorwin on Unsplash

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