When Rest Feels Like Resistance

It’s the week before the closeout of this series, and I am in need of a break. My blog usually drops on Tuesday, and here I am releasing it on a Thursday. I felt guilty—like I was somehow dropping the ball just because I wasn’t sticking to the schedule.

But then I had to remind myself: I’m allowed to rest. I’m allowed to reset. Even if it doesn’t align with the original timeline.

There’s that old rule we hear all the time—“if you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of anything else.” And while that isn’t just a quote for Pinterest or therapy worksheets, it can still be hard to honor. Especially when you’ve been conditioned to keep pushing no matter how tired you are. Many of us who’ve lived in survival mode learned early on to hustle through heartbreak, grind through grief, and smile through scarcity.

But rest isn’t a luxury.

It’s not a reward for productivity.

It’s a requirement for wellness.

The discomfort you feel when you slow down isn’t laziness—it’s detox. It’s the ache of unlearning. Because somewhere along the way, we were taught that exhaustion was noble. That being burnt out meant we were doing something right. That stillness was selfish. That if you stopped, you’d be forgotten.

But what if rest is the portal?

What if the clarity you’ve been praying for lives on the other side of silence?

What if your next breakthrough isn’t in what you do, but in what you release?

So many of us are unknowingly depriving ourselves of the very thing that could change everything. And rest doesn’t just look like naps or soft music and candles. Rest is honoring your boundaries. Saying no without guilt. Declining what depletes you. It’s the sacred pause that gives your body and spirit room to catch up with your heart.

It’s the inner permission to be—not constantly prove. And yes, some days it’s still hard. I fidget. I overthink. I reach for something to fix. Something to finish. But then I breathe—and I remember:

I am not lazy for needing restoration.

I am human for needing rest.

So if you’ve been feeling the urge to slow down but guilt keeps creeping in—let this be your permission slip.

You are allowed to take a break.

You are allowed to be tired.

You are allowed to do less and still be worthy of love, peace, and softness.

Because you are only as good to the world as you are to yourself.

And being good to yourself starts with rest.

With all my love, I pray this helps.