Every day I wake up to an immediate barrage of notifications…
Ping! New email!
Ping! New text message!
Ping! Missed call!
Ping! New Instagram notification!
And let me tell you, none of these sounds spark joy, or make me feel a sense of calm. They heighten my nervous system, immediately send me down the pages and pages of to do lists and follow ups I lined up the day before, and I haven’t even brushed my teeth yet 😅
I fear… no, I know… I’m not alone.
We live in a world surrounded by technology with an expectation to immediately respond to anyone or anything demanding our attention, as quickly as possible.
This is relatively new for the human race. It may not seem like it but, even 15 years ago, I can remember a time where cell phones weren’t constantly in our hands. We weren’t checking our emails 30 times a day. We spent more time outside, spent more time with friends and family, and generally just had a better balance for more positive mental space than the world that we currently live in.
Add in global hardship, war, discrimination, violence, (you name it) and we’re all destined to feel burnt out much faster than we ever have before in our lives.
I’m tired…
I know I’m not alone in this. And I’m curious…
When was the last time you felt truly relaxed?
The last time you sat down for a cup of coffee and didn’t immediately think of everything you had to do that day?
When was the last time you sat with a friend, just for fun? Not because either of you needed something, or because you were going through a hardship, but just to enjoy each other‘s laughter and company?
When was the last time you read a book that wasn’t for self improvement? A book to read just for the sake of reading? A book to take you to a far away place you may never be able to experience in real life?
If you’re anything like me, it may have been a hot minute 😅
I came to the realization that It’s been too long since I took time just for myself. I often excuse this behavior because I do care deeply about Think Unique and I love what I do. When you love what you do, it’s really easy to make excuses against taking time off, against breaks, or to cancel (or avoid) making social plans because “you run a business and you couldn’t possibly have time for that”.
As a person that runs a mental health centric business, I can’t NOT practice what I preach. I can’t be constantly burnt out and tell people they need rest. I can’t tell people the benefits of breathwork and yoga and meditation and not make time to do those actions for myself.
This lead me to schedule three days with one of my best friends in a beautiful place, the VEA Resort & Spa in Newport Beach.
We’ve talked until late into the night. We’ve enjoyed time in a hot tub and in the sun. We ate and drank to our hearts content. We’ve talked about the ups and downs of life. We’ve talked about how much has changed in the last 10 years, and laughed till our faces hurt ❤️
Now that I am nearing the end of our trip, I’ve realized how much I needed this break.
It’s allowed me to come to terms with the fact that we as humans need rest, we need community, and we need time outside of our ordinary to recharge and come back to our normal lives as our best selves.
I am so grateful for the awareness and privilege to take time away like this, and to have a friendship so beautiful that we can talk about how much we’ve grown over the last 10 years.
If you’ve made it this far, I hope that you see some truth to this and maybe even a little bit of yourself. If you do, I encourage you to take a break. It doesn’t have to be a weekend. It doesn’t have to be a full day. It can be as simple as 10 minutes to do breath work and calm your nervous system. 10 minutes to try a somatic healing exercise from your Hack Your Nervous System deck. 10 minutes to call a loved one and laugh with each other.
I hope you find the time and rest that you deserve, and if you’ve been waiting for permission to rest, please consider it given ❤️
With love & gratitude,
Lo