Rest Is My Religion

The Art of Self Preservation

I have this motto I have come to live by, this phrase I say out loud that leaves the elders clutching their pearls, “I like to rest BEFORE I get tired”. This confession never did sit well in a world where you MUST kill yourself daily in order to appear accomplished or feel like you’re worth a damn. Wearing myself out is a no for me.

The best time for me to relax, take a break, or rest, is before I really need to. After experiencing the benefits of resting before I get tired as opposed to resting AFTER I get tired, has become a proactive mechanism of mine in which I have grown to appreciate, stop trying to hide, and stopped making excuses. This self-preservation tactic that I use where I rest before I get tired has helped minimize the stress in my life for well over ten years.

When I listen to some of the stories from people in my age group and what they have been through, I think to myself, dayum! That could have all been avoided if you would have made rest, for your mind and body, a priority. Studies show that when we get the rest we need, our minds and body function better. We think more rationally. We have better judgment. And we are more positive about life. This takes me back to my point of resting before I get tired. If studies have proven that all of these unhealthy things occur when we don’t get enough…