For as long as I can remember, I’ve been busy. Busy working, learning, exploring, building, mothering, partnering, marketing, problem solving, making money, paying bills…you get the point. I grew up around hard workers who did what was necessary to provide. As a hard worker, I appreciate results and often go above and beyond to achieve them. This has been a core belief for me for a very long time. My value and worth has always been tied to performance, how much I can do and how well I can do it.
I know there are some people reading this who can totally relate to what I’m saying. Here’s the thing about self worth and value as humans, we allow society to determine the definition rather than creating our own. As children, we learn by example and often mirror what we see or what we are told. This is why it is so important to be mindful of the examples we are to the young people around us. I no longer believe that my worth is tied to how much or how well I do anything. I am worthy simply because I exist. It has been a process to unlearn and reprogram but it is absolutely possible.
Rest is an essential part of health, growth and life in general. I take breaks, I say no, I schedule time off for road trips, beach time, a vacation when I want and I no longer feel bad about it. This is so important to me because I could get easily caught up in being busy and forget to pause. I’ve learned the importance of taking breaks to enjoy the fruits of my labor and not just my labor but the labor of those who worked so hard for me to be here and have the freedom to do so. I’ve also learned the value of resting when I feel like resting because this is actually a part of my process. I have an amazing life, I still work hard, and I rest hard. I simply revel in that time off and come back better for it every time because rest is actually an essential part of the work.
