If you are like me then sometimes you get burned out in life. Especially if you are a new grad like me and the only thing you are used to is working hard until that next semester break. At which point you get a refreshing 3 weeks off and jump right back in.
The real world isn’t like that. You probably don’t have anywhere close to 6 weeks of vacation a year, and the school life actually has even more than that!
So how do we get to rest? How do we get that needed time off?
The short answer is: we don’t.
But rest is still vital in our busy lives. To take a tangent for a moment, there is a reason God rested on the 7th day. It was not because God himself needed rest. It was an example for us humans created in His image. An example that we need rest. It is vital for our survival.
So how can we make time for extra rest? I have found a surprising answer recently and want to share it.
There is Rest in Routine
For the past couple of months, I have been working hard in and out of work. I picked up a few hobbies (including writing), trained hard in the gym, trained a lot in krav maga, and worked hard on a new feature for my team’s next release.
When I look back, I was burning out. I was always thinking about what the next thing I should work on or work towards was. I was not content in my present circumstances.
Don’t get me wrong. It is good to grow. God didn’t make us to stay stagnant but to get up and go! But to reiterate, He also made us rest.
Here is my simple strategy for finding rest:
Take time to sink into a routine, stay consistent, stay content, and just live life.
That is the secret rest that I found.
I don’t always have to be growing and striving for the next thing. It has been so relaxing to sit back this month and just go through the motions. I was totally present the whole time, but I didn’t worry about what was next either.
I just went with the flow. I had a set routine for gym time, rest time, Bible studies, meals, krav maga, and runs. I was still busy, don’t get me wrong. I didn’t just quit everything and take a vacation, which is what most of us believe is true rest.
Rest can also be a mindset. A mindset of contentment.
If you can just take a month to set a solid routine that you can be content with and stick to it, I guarantee you will be amazed at how refreshed you will feel! I even went to the extreme and ate the same food almost every day! (Some people might go crazy on that one). But knowing I am doing this for only one month and not my whole life was helpful.
What I learned is that I dwell way too much about the future. Taking a month to think about this month and only this month has been more refreshing than I could have ever imagined.
If you are feeling burned out, like you need a vacation but don’t have any more personal days you can take, then give this a try! You may not need a break from life. You may just need a break from your hectic mind.
—
Previously published on medium
—
◊♦◊
Talk to you soon.
If you believe in the work we are doing here at The Good Men Project and want to join our calls on a regular basis, please join us as a Premium Member, today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS.
Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
—
Photo credit: Unsplash