As I turned my steering wheel westward, toward my hometown, I ran through my to-do list yet again. Every break, it's the same story: just as much work, but with the luxury of doing it elsewhere. For the most part, I don't mind: I committed to this workload because I love everything that I do. Doing what I love has never been a problem for me--but when doing what I love becomes items on a checklist, there's a problem.

So I did the unthinkable this weekend: I took a break.

I pushed it off as long as possible--I did have some work that had to be done--but I did it. I broke down and chose to spend some time with myself and with my family. The work would still be there when I returned to it, but I don't have that guarantee for my sanity. Between the mountains of schoolwork, maintaining relationships, balancing workloads and general stress, I've realized that not many people (myself included) know how to care for their brains, so they let the stress eat away at them until their lives become a series of breakdowns.

But I have news for you:

There is nothing that is more important than your mental health.

Sure, there are deadlines to meet, work to finish, degrees to pursue, dreams to chase and careers to begin, but none of that means anything if you can't enjoy it. I work my tail off so that I can have the future that I want, usually refusing to rest because I'm afraid of falling behind. But I've recently realized that I will never get ahead if I continue to let myself burn out over and over and over again. It's not helpful. It's not enjoyable. It's not healthy.

So I took a break. I relaxed. I hung out with my family. I didn't think about my homework for two whole days. And sure, I had a giant pile of work to return to when I returned to reality--but I found myself doing it much more cheerfully and quickly. I was refreshed. I took a bit of time to care for my mind, and I was rewarded greatly for it.

What's stopping you from doing the same?