Take a Break — Seriously, Take It

Take a break.

It’s been said a million different ways. Get some rest, go get air, take a walk, take a day off, go home for the day, get some more sleep, and the list will go on forever. All of these are samples of telling people to take a step back and to just pause. It is admirable and rewarding to get to where you’ve dreamt of reaching and have worked so damn hard to get there. But it is not any less fulfilling if it takes some time.

We can get caught up in trying so hard to get where we want to be that we don’t pay attention to ourselves. Our bodies and our minds tire, and while pushing forward and putting in all the work we need to do is great we can’t do it without letting ourselves get a breather.

The first thing that needs to be understood are that goals between people are different because we value different things. We have different wants, needs, and desires which effect how long it takes to reach our goals. These are our motivations and there will always be a struggle on the way up. Obstacles will never be avoidable in life.

And that can create fears. The fear of never making it because of those obstacles. The fear of getting to comfortable in one spot, never daring to go forward. Or even the fear of never even trying. Obstacles or hurdles can create these fears.

And the damning thing is that they come in all shapes and sizes.

The people in our life. Family, friends, enemies, or even people that we’ve never actually met. The obstacle could be related to experience or an education. Maybe it’s financial related. Or it’s a situation that was completely out of one’s control, they had no say or no way to prevent it from happening.

But the biggest obstacle that we could come face to face with, more than any other, is ourselves. Getting into our head that we can’t make it. So we either stop, or we never even start.

Or, thinking there’s only one way to get there. And that we can’t stop, or we’ll never make it.

And this is where that break is needed. Just for a moment, a small pause to sit back and look around. Look at ourselves.

Taking a break allows us to reel things back in. To stop wherever we are and just turn around at everything we’ve accomplished along the way. See the things we’ve sacrificed and the things we’ve gained in order to get where we are presently, and this allows us to think. We’re able to think about how we feel about where we are, how we got here, and how to move forward. Or, sometimes, how to move in a different direction or change things that just aren’t for us anymore.

Without that break, if we just keep going, at some point in our future we will be forced to take a break. If our bodies don’t come crashing down on us, then our minds will. Thinking won’t be an easy task, being organized will become harder, self-reflection could be tossed out the window.

We could do something we don’t want to, don’t mean to, if we forget how to just breathe and stop.

Because not everything needs to happen right after the other.

Working and working until you forget where you are or how you got there is not something that has to happen in order reach our goals. Regardless of what the goal we should not have to break ourselves to get there. Hard work is one thing, but losing ourselves is completely different.

Losing yourself can break everything, regardless of how much work, time, and energy has been invested. So, take a break.

And don’t get me wrong, it is so much easier said than done. Especially because breaks can be seen, if not often, as negative wants. Like they’re not necessary or that if you need a break, then you’re either lazy or won’t make progress. Those negative thoughts about needing a break might always be there, but knowing the value of breaks is the key to rising above those thoughts.

You’re not lazy if you need a break. You’re not destined to fail if you take a break. You need a break to get your energy back. You need a break to get through the journey.

So don’t break your mind and body, and think you’re powering through. You will get there, in time. And that’s okay.

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This post was previously published on medium.com.

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From The Good Men Project on Medium

What Does Being in Love and Loving Someone Really Mean?

My 9-Year-Old Accidentally Explained Why His Mom Divorced Me

The One Thing Men Want More Than Sex

The Internal Struggle Men Battle in Silence

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