Amigas, When's the Last Time You Took a Break?
How many times a week do we say to ourselves that we need a vacation? Maybe everyday lol, pero how many times do we actually take one, even just a single day off? Casi nunca right? I get it, life is expensive right now & traveling often just isn't realistic for a lot of us. This isn't really about flights or hotels, it's about something smaller & honestly a lot harder for a lot of us: how do we allow ourselves to rest?
I won't be working next week & yes, I am excited about it, but if I'm being fully honest with you, a huge part of my brain is also spiraling a little jeje. There's this voice that creeps in & says girl, you're not gonna work? What if your clients need you? What if something happens? Some of you reading this may be business owners too or you may work for a job that does not offer PTO, so you probably know that if we do not work, we do not get paid. This makes rest feel less like something we're allowed to have & more like a financial risk we're taking on.
Why do our brains think this way
A lot of us grew up watching our parents work through exhaustion, through being sick, through everything because stopping simply was not an option they had. We grew up in households where no matter what, you had to work because how else would we survive? Somewhere along the way a lot of us absorbed that same belief, that rest has to be earned or that needing rest at all means something is wrong with us. Logically, I hope we all know that this is unhealthy & not sustainable, but how do we rewrite this negative belief?
Let’s start with: I would like to think most of our parents worked so hard in order to provide us with an easier life. We can be grateful for this & try to enjoy the life they wanted us to have.
A few honest truths I'm trying to remind myself of this week
Your business, your clients & your responsibilities will most likely survive one week without you (I hope this isn’t offensive guys lol). It is very easy for our brains to create the worst imaginable scenarios, but our thoughts are not facts.Rest is not something you have to earn through exhaustion. You are allowed to rest before you burnout. The fear of losing income during time off is real & valid & it's also worth gently asking yourself whether that fear is running your entire life or just showing up loudly this one week. You can build toward taking time off gradually too, it doesn't have to be a whole week right away! Even one weekday off with your phone away & no client emails can start rewiring that old belief that stopping is dangerous. If a full vacation isn't financially realistic right now, then a stay-cation can be cute & relaxing as well.
The homework you did not ask for :)
Even if you can't take a whole week off, can you take just one day, one single day where you let yourself exist without producing anything at all. Our worth is not based on our productivity amigas, whether it is work-related or how many chores we can get done at home.
We tell ourselves all the time that we need a break, so this week, let's actually believe ourselves & follow through.
If you're in crisis or having thoughts of harming yourself, please call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24/7, in case of emergencies.
