Why it matters: When we constantly override our own needs to meet external demands, we teach ourselves that our value is conditional on depletion. Reframing rest as productive work (not just recovery from "real" work) fundamentally shifts how we value ourselves and our time.
Here is a universal truth: at some point, we’ve all been asked to serve someone while suppressing ourselves.
Often these types of jobs have a “suck it up and take it” mentality, or even worse actual advice that is given to anyone who questions it.
I’ve been given that advice in many forms, including “that’s just the way it is”, “just be less passionate so you don’t care as much”, and “they’ll never change so you need to find a way to work around them.”
Basically: suck it up, and take it.
The frustration, the overwhelm, the relentless demand, or the incredibly confusing people telling you to do a thing that just literally makes no sense- it wears on people, eventually giving up, leaving their jobs, developing health problems, or stalling their own growth and potential.
I wish there was a perfect antidote, and to be honest, there’s not. We still have to take it. The world is currently a place that is merciless as much as it is beautiful.
But in my research about a life of novelty, I find that I don’t have to take it and keep moving. Instead of taking it standing up (exhausting myself to endure), I'm choosing to take it lying down (literally resting while the chaos continues).
This isn’t accepting defeat without resistance, it’s reserving your energy for the parts of the work that suit you best. Instead of being less in order to withstand it or working harder/more in order to accomplish it, I’m going to put it down. Maybe even lie down.
Productivity comes in so many forms, as does the way our time exists in value. It is productive to rest. It is valuable to put it down. We are allowed to wallow, we are allowed to restore.
In the fall, it is worth changing our energies to match the seasons. The fall leaves are changing, falling, lying themselves down from the hard work of photosynthesis in Spring and Summer. And while they’ll go through a season of dark (Winter), their time will come again to rise up and do the work.
Lying down for you could look like a 15-minute floor rest (truly I think lying on the floor for awhile is marvelous), saying no to evening emails, or setting a boundary for how you communicate with a demanding colleague.
So if you’re out there with just too much to take, then try taking it lying down. If nothing else, it’s just nice to sneak in a little rest while the world of chaos goes on relentlessly around you.
Talk soon,
Rachel
Leadership trainer, novelty junkie, and human being
P.S. On a late night adventure, I found this mural in my neighborhood and thought it perfectly reflected the good in the world around us.
Dig a little deeper: I talk about rest and productivity in my new book, "Being Human (Centric)". Want to read more? Join early access here!
What’s next: Try a 15-minute floor rest this week. Set a timer, lie down on the floor (not your bed- the firmness matters), and just exist. No phone, no problem-solving, no guilt. Notice what it feels like to literally take the weight off while the world continues around you.
Bonus: do this during a workday if possible, not just evenings when you're "allowed" to rest.
Want More?
There's resources on the website for you to download, from free conflict resolution guides, to courses on human-centric leadership, and much more!
Feel free to explore them all.
Thanks for joining me on my search for novelty and one human-centric leaders's journey towards a more balanced life.
