It is undeniable that Americans, as a society, love to stay busy. Culturally, we emphasize productivity, proper time management and tangible results of our hard work. Indeed, the American dream is built on how hard we work for our goals in life. In an attempt to fill our day, we stay busy by spending time with friends, working at our job, studying in school, or perhaps watching TV. Regardless of what we are doing, we are at the very least doing something. Incidentally, boredom is marked as one of chief calamities that could ever befall us, and it is avoided at all costs by constant movement. We live life in continuous motion, not wanting to learn what would happen if we were to hit pause.
What if I were to tell you that there is more to productivity than busyness? What if I said that to be your best sometimes means slowing down? What if the number of hours you work or how fast you finish your education is not all there is to the picture?
I propose that this system of unceasing busyness is flawed.
I love to stay busy. I am oftentimes result-driven, so it is in my nature to concentrate much of my efforts into creating tangible results of my productivity. I am always going.
When I’m not in class, I’m at work. When I’m not at work, I’m hanging out with friends. When I’m not hanging out with friends, I am cleaning my room, running, or playing one of my many musical instruments. There is rarely a lull in my day, and if there is, then I immediately attempt to fill it up with something. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, work hard, play hard. But what about rest? Or do we just keep going, even if it means crawling across the finish line instead of racing past it?
There is value in simply being. I am certainly not denying the joy that comes from fulfilling your responsibilities and spending your time wisely, but I do believe that we tend to underestimate the value of rest, especially in today’s world.
When was the last time you hit pause?
If you're like me, it may have taken you a few moments to recall the last time you truly found yourself resting. Maybe you couldn’t think of a time at all. Regardless, the restoration of strength, both physical and psychological, is something we should seek out on at least a weekly basis.
In the Christian Scriptures, we see that rest was an important part of the Israeli lifestyle (Exodus 20:8-11). God commanded us to work for six days, but on the seventh, we are to refrain from work. Why is that? I believe that God knew that we needed that time to set apart each week for finding rest away from work.
What does rest do?
Rest restores our strength. When I take a nap, I wake up feeling physically more alert and in possession of greater mental acuity. It’s like I have a fresh start to the day. Similarly, when we rest, we feel more prepared for the work that we must do in the coming days. By resting now, we can prepare ourselves for being effective leaders in our respective fields of work.
Rest allows us to reset our priorities. It gives us the time to refocus on what’s important so that we can then take the active steps to meet those goals and visions we have for the future. It’s like an explorer who is hiking through the rainforest and every once in a while climbs a tree to make sure he is headed in the right direction. He may find himself to be off track sometimes, so taking a moment to stop what he is doing and see where he is and where he is going ensures that he continues in the right path.
We need rest. Yet, unfortunately, I witness many well-meaning individuals go about their lives without taking a moment to slow down, and that hurts them. In my own life, when I fail to rest, I become exhausted, worn, and much less effective in what I do. Without rest, we cannot do all that we wish to do.
Resting is hard. It is not quantifiable, nor does it directly lead to positive results. Sometimes it may seem as if our time would be better spent doing other things. However, let me submit to you that rest is necessary. Rather than spend a week in constant doing, I urge you to work hard in the time that you have to work so that you can also have time to rest. Whether we recognize it or not, we need rest. It enables us to tackle the challenges of life with a smile of confidence, knowing that our strength is intact.
We need rest, but how often do we actually take it?
