Rest Is For The Weak

By: Dr. Jessica Metcalfe

Elizabeth hustles. She is a dentist in her early 30s. She hustles morning, noon and night. She lives by “The 5am Club”. Her motto: “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” She learned early on that if you weren’t the early bird than you were never going to get the worm. She is constantly busy and that’s the way she likes it. When she is busy, she doesn’t give herself the opportunity to sit still. That’s how she likes it, moving from one thing to the next, to the next…without a breath. She thrives on this lifestyle.

Why? Because she loves being busy. It keeps her going. It motivates her. If she isn’t striving for the next item on her to-do list, then what’s the point?

She knows if she sits with her thoughts, then that’s when she becomes anxious. But when she is moving, when she is focused, anxiety doesn’t catch up.

Until it does.

The amount of pressure that she puts on herself isn’t sustainable long-term. 

However, she has been doing it for so long, she doesn’t know any different.

At times, Elizabeth dreams about being less busy. Less dentistry. Less hustling. But, in today’s culture (not just in dentistry), burnout is worn as a badge of honor. It’s glamorized.

"If you aren’t exhausted, then you aren’t working hard enough," Elizabeth said. This is what kept her motivated.

But, when did downtime become non-essential? When did rest become an afterthought? When did relaxation only happen when you absolutely deserved it? When did it become okay to take from sleep so you can get everything on that to-do list done?

These are the questions we should be asking ourselves if we find that we are stuck in “rest is for the weak”.

For the high-achiever, downtime is essential.

For the high-performer, rest should be a priority.

For the ambitious individual, relaxation is required.

Elizabeth had a hard time trying to get over her thoughts of assuming that rest and relaxation meant she was being lazy. Elizabeth spent years learning that she not only deserved it but didn’t have to wait until she was worthy to enjoy it. She didn’t have to wait until she was breaking to take a break.

Today, Elizabeth can still struggle with rest and relaxation but she now knows it is just as much of a priority as working hard and working smart.

She can only show up and bring the best when she takes care of herself as well.

Elizabeth wants you to start to question whether you are taking enough time for yourself.

She wants to ask the hard questions: 

1. When was the last time you were able to sit with your thoughts without being anxious? 
2. When did you take a break for you because you WANTED to, not because you needed to? 
3. When will you recognize that sacrificing sleep can have detrimental health affects (including early onset dementia)? 
4. And most importantly, when will you realize, you are just as important as the people you take care of?

Stay Awesome,

Jessica ELIZABETH Metcalfe