Rest.

While my rest from writing blogs has been much too long, I think there is something to be said about finding time to rest. Whether it's from work, workouts, learning, reading, etc., rest is good for the soul. With the rise of image rich individuals on social media claiming that if you want to win, you can't have time to rest, I think this blog is extremely fitting. Not only do I think being unable to rest is unhealthy, but I think the idea that avoiding rest is the only way to be successful is the biggest lie on the internet, and in this blog I'll share with you a few reasons why I feel that way.

If you've been on any social media lately, you've likely seen some sort of 'motivational' video with content along the lines of, "If you want to win, you can't stop working. If you stop working you are already being beat by everyone." (Although they typically have uncontrollable verbage thrown in here and there) While it sounds like it could be true, and possibly good advice, I'm here to tell you it's not. I think the first thing to understand about these videos is that, the person making the video doesn't live by that. And it's clear, because they had time in their day to sit down and rant for a few hours on a podcast. Not that there is anything wrong with podcasts, but let's be honest, if you have a few hours to smoke a cigar and cuss into a microphone then you aren't being the absolute most productive you can be. Not to mention while telling us we need to work all day non-stop to ever be successful, they also proceed to tell us how much they enjoy spending time on their yachts and traveling the world. Indeed, a great and surely enjoyable lifestyle, but to stand on the lie that you need to, "never stop working" to achieve that is far from the truth.

There are two examples I'm going to share with you to prove that rest is necessary, not only for health, but for success. One is true of you, the other is just an example I want to share.

The example I want to share is that of people who actually work hard, who give 100% all the time at work - the real definition of giving your all, and it's not giving your all, all the time. It's giving your all when you're in a productive setting. In psychology, it's not uncommon that we learn about burnout and how it's, "Impossible to give 100% all day at a job," as that dedication to work often leads to burnout. And truthfully, that's just as much a lie as the latter; that you have to work your hardest every time, all of the time, to be successful. Successful people give 100% when they are in a productive setting, but they also know how to give 0% to that work when it comes time to rest. They know how to unplug. When we are at work, doing chores, etc., we should be giving 100%. It's good for us and good for the organization we are a part of. But it's important that in giving our 100%, we learn to unplug when it's time to unplug.

The example true of you, is that you were created to work hard AND rest well. You were created in the image of God, Genesis 1:27, and God works hard and rests well. In the beginning of Genesis, we see God create for six days, and then on the 7th day, he rests. That's literally what the verse says. "By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work." Genesis 2:2 NIV

If you think you don't need rest, ever, you're wrong. And burnout will indeed catch you and you'll fall face first into a pile of lost passion and confused hope. If you think you can give 80% at your job to try to avoid burnout and still be your best, you're also wrong. It's a balance of 100% effort focused towards work when at work and 100% effort focused towards rest when it's time to rest.

Don't buy the lies. Work hard and rest well.