Remember to Rest

After writing about lessons learned from the (bike) saddle, I felt it’d be a good idea to expand a little on the idea of rest. Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter have exposed me to a lot of unhealthy (in my opinion) viewpoints. I’m gonna push back on the hustle culture a bit in this one. Having engaged pretty deeply with that mindset in the past, I can safely say it hasn’t led to long term fulfillment.

Only after changing my viewpoint was I able to relax.

Only after relaxing was I able to gain a better idea of what I want.

Once I knew what I wanted, it was only a matter of figuring out what to focus on.

So, in short, fuck the hustle culture.

Get some sleep.

Take a rest.

Relax.

-Is the hustle even working?

I don’t think we’re meant to, as Bukowski put it, “(be) awakened at 8:30 a.m. by an alarm clock, leap out of bed, dress, force-feed, shit, piss, brush teeth and hair, and fight traffic to get to a place where essentially you made lots of money for somebody else and were asked to be grateful for the opportunity to do so.” 

Bukowski’s alarm clock is pretty chill by modern standards, considering some of the more famous Hustlebros, who tell us we’re failing if we don’t get up at 4:00am.

I’m not about to wake up at 4.

Burnout is serious.

Depression is serious.

Job dissatisfaction is serious.

We’ve gotta figure out another way.

-This is a recent development in human history.

Fortunately, humanity has already done things another way. And we did so for thousands of years. We’ve had days set aside for rest. We’ve had traditional nap times. We’ve even had large portions of the year reserved for leisure. It’s only recently that we’ve tried to abandon rest and relaxation in favor of “the grind.”

In the 1200s, some European peasants had over 20 weeks off per year.

In today’s world, US citizens work more than the average serf.

All we’ve done is create more work for ourselves.

But weren’t we supposed to be advancing?

The insane work schedules implemented during the Industrial Revolution were not the norm. They were a departure from what we’d been doing for millenia. In the 21st century, as technology promises to replace millions of jobs, we’re glorifying 80 hour work weeks. It’s becoming a symbol of status to be “really busy.”

This isn’t normal.

And being busy isn’t cool.

Don’t wear busy as a badge of honor.

No one remembers the really busy guy because he was busy.

“Wow. I sure miss old whatshisname. Remember how busy he was?”

I’d prefer to be plenty of other things, if I could pick my adjectives.

Busy, though?

Hell no.

-We are animals. We can look to nature for natural behavior.

Consider that we are animals. That’s not up for debate. Specifically, we’re mammals. We’re a part of the natural world, despite our best efforts at separating from it. If we step out of the office building for a second, get in the car, drive a few hours, hike for a day or two, and set up camp, we can observe firsthand how our animal family lives.

Sure, there’s some effort put in.

One must move to eat, eat to live, and also avoid being eaten.

But what goes on otherwise?

Rest and sleep.

Oh, and fucking.

But the average mammal’s just chillin’ most of the time.

Sleep patterns vary a ton in mammals, but they all do it.

When Rachel and I adopted our dog, Cowboy, I bought a bunch of books about dogs. I felt like I’d failed my last dog, and wanted to give Cowboy a better life. I read a bunch, hoping to be a good caretaker of this guy. In one of these books, the author claims my dog needs fourteen hours of sleep a day!

According to scientists, humans do well with anywhere from seven to ten.

If you’re getting less than eight, consider upping your sleep intake.

Keep in mind that not all rest is sleep, and not all sleep is rest.

You need both, and you need quality.

-Without rest, we cannot rebuild.

During physical rest, our bodies repair themselves. We all know this, of course, but it’s easy to neglect ourselves during periods of stress. Whether it’s a big project at work or some sort of drama at home, stress pushes some of us to go harder. 

But you can only go harder for so long.

Stress hurts your mind.

Stress hurts your body.

Stress hurts your relationships.

Get solid physical rest, and give yourself the space you need to recover. You’ll reap the benefits of a longer life, lower blood pressure, and fewer aches and pains.

-Rest is for the mind, too.

There are times when physical rest isn’t enough. If you’re getting a reasonable amount of sleep, taking some time for yourself, and focusing on physical recovery, you might still find yourself feeling tired or overwhelmed. There’s something else going on, isn’t there?

It’s easy to forget to rest your mind.

We need rest socially, emotionally, and creatively.

Do a little introspection if you’re feeling burnt out, exhausted, or stressed.

You might need a little time away from social gatherings. You might need to take a few days away from your work, just to let that part of your mind recover. If there’s something in your life that’s causing stress, see if you can back away from it, eliminate it, or minimize it. In extreme cases, the best you can hope for is a new way of seeing something. It’s a rough fact of life that we can’t eliminate all of our stressors, but we can explore ways to see them differently.

To get the most out of a decent life, it helps to step back and observe.

With the information you gather, you can form a plan.

Make sure that plan includes time for rest.

-If we make the time for rest, we will be more effective.

Rest helps us kick ass, if we don’t abuse it.

Resting all day, forever, keeps you from getting things done.

Resting intentionally, in the right ways, will put you in a better place.

One of my favorite examples of beneficial rest comes from a Dale Carnegie book I read in 2011. Some guy named Frederick Taylor was experimenting with worker productivity at a steel company. He had a worker carry iron, and then rest, at short intervals. The worker ended up carrying chunks of iron for a total of 26 minutes each hour (resting for 34 minutes).

The result: this worker was able to move almost four times as much iron as the others.

…And he rested more than he worked.

-It’s hard to get that little voice outta your head. Start where you’re at.

Here’s the deal: You can’t change overnight. Or at least it’s highly unlikely you will. Something like behavior change takes a long time (anywhere from 18-254 days, depending on who you believe). The important part is that, for now, you learn to catch the little voice in your head that’s giving you shit for not being productive “enough.” For not working hard “enough.” 

In the modern world, we get most (or all) of our information from social media. Whether we want to admit it or not, we’re getting our standards there too. The hustle porn, the rise and grind culture, and the infinite stream of tech bros are painting a false picture of what human life should be.

Work is only one part of life.

Hustle culture centers work above all else.

But that’s not realistic, and it’s truly not fulfilling.

The evidence presents itself in the regrets of the dying.

You can build a decent life and make time for rest.

Rest is key to creating your decent life.



Thanks for reading. If you’ve enjoyed this article or any of the others, consider sharing. Shoutouts and screenshots on social media are super helpful, as is forwarding the emails to friends. I hope some of what I write ends up being helpful. If this sparked any thoughts or desire for change, I’d love to hear about it! Have an excellent day, and remember to rest.
-Nate