There are so many things that grab our attention in today’s fast-paced modern world. We find it so hard to just sit and to be still. Even toddlers grow up with parents popping squeeze pouches into their mouths as they chase after a toy, instead of learning to sit down and have set meal times.

Even into adulthood, almost every type of food can be bought through a drive-thru, and meals are eaten at a desk at work while trying to stay on top of the task at hand. It’s as if everything we do is time-sensitive and demands to be accomplished immediately.

The funny thing is, we thrive on it. We thrive on being stressed and overwhelmed, and we take pride in how hard we work. We have conversations with our co-workers saying how busy we are with XYZ, only to have them argue how much busier they were with their own XYZs. We’re power hungry and we’re money hungry. It’s a rabbit hole, one I find myself falling down far too often.

Being a college student, there’s a false belief that we must be overly stressed and busy in order to be successful in our future careers. We must stretch ourselves thin, in order to stretch our resumes out long. If we aren’t in tears at least twice a week, we aren’t trying hard enough, and our dream job will be given to that other student who worked and volunteered 170 hours out of the 168 hours in a week. It’s ridiculous, and it needs to stop.

So stop.

I know, I know, it’s hard. It’s hard to get yourself to stop. Especially without overthinking and then stressing out about the fact that you may be falling behind, but it’s OKAY. You are not falling behind, you will not lose your dream job, and you will not be considered lazy. You need rest. You need to pause and give yourself some much-needed downtime.

Downtime doesn’t have to be binge-watching Netflix for 3 hours straight (Or, it could be. I’m definitely a fan). But it could also be downtime spent doing productive things, that involves something you love. It could be something like spending time with family, or even face-timing them if they aren’t close. Or, you could spend more time grabbing coffee or lunch with friends, and even just hang out. You can paint, you can cook, you can play an instrument, you can hike, you can exercise. Anything you love, do it.

You need to fuel yourself with rest and relaxation, and recharge yourself so you can keep pushing and working hard. You don’t need to burn yourself out just to get ahead because that will only hurt you in the long run.

You’ll be exhausted, and you’ll only be able to give a certain percentage of yourself when you should be able to give 100% if you’re looking out for your well being. Which is important, because you are important. So sit down and enjoy your meals.

Take a break, go for a run, grab coffee with a friend, sleep, do whatever it is. Just pause. Life will be waiting for you when you’re recharged and back to 100%.