My body decided that I needed to take a break. I didn’t plan it; it wasn’t written on my to-do list for the day and it definitely made me mad and guilty for being unproductive. But I didn’t have a choice.
When your body tells you to slow down you must listen.
I became weak. I couldn’t even lift my regular set of weights when working out. Neither could I exercise for long. I needed sleep. And I found myself sleeping more than 16 hours in one day (yes, you heard that right… 16 hours) and my stomach issues (IBS-C) took a toll on me even more. I couldn’t work, work out, or hang out with people like I used to. All because my body was giving me signs that it needed a day off.
So I listened.
I stopped pushing myself so hard. I slept, didn’t work out, cancelled plans, pushed my deadlines, and started eating foods that helped my stomach heal.
And guess what? I woke up after this three-day rest and felt incredible! I finally felt more like myself than I’ve had in months.
My body decided to take a day off because I wouldn’t.
Right now we live in a world where we feel we have to go-go-go. I was working two jobs and one of them was especially draining. I didn’t listen to my body, and I kept pushing pushing pushing. But I gained weight, I felt gross, I was exhausted and I wasn’t myself.
Why do we do this to ourselves?
Look at the cost it came with. Everything I preach, I fully ignored. I was convinced I could “handle it” and carry on.
Pssh… I could handle it? Really? That was my answer for pushing myself when I was literally on bed rest?
I’m sure most of you can relate.
We all push ourselves over the edge sometimes. We forget about our health simply to work those next couple of hours. To just work out one more time, not miss out on opportunities, or let others down.
I promise you, though, the world will be just fine if you take a break. Nothing will fall apart if you sleep in and focus on yourself for just one day.
My body telling me to take a day off and having that choice really opened my eyes to the wonders of self-care even more.
Self-care comes in many forms and, for me, one of them is sleep. Find what works for you and focus on growing your own self-care routine according to your body’s needs.
Photo by Roberto Nickson on Unsplash
