5 reasons why rest may not be enough

Do you often feel DONE at the end of the day?? Like you have nothing more to give?

Often, we find ourselves slumped on the couch reaching for a bag of chips or cookies to devour in front of the tv in hopes of erasing the day we've just had.? It's a form of escape and we tell ourselves that we deserve it after such a hard day.? We mistake this activity as a treat and define it as rest, however, we're not really resting.

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In fact, it may be further depleting our energy.?

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Don't get me wrong rest is so important.? Getting enough sleep, eating well, regular exercise, and mindfulness are all essential parts of a healthy routine.?

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BUT, what do you do when rest is not enough?

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What more could be at work here?

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Sometimes the effects of rest are temporary because what we do and how we think during the other parts of the day are equally as important.

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Here are 5 reasons why you may be finding that rest is not enough:

1. Overwhelm

When we are overwhelmed, everything seems so difficult.? We feel pressured and weighed down.? It's often hard to see a way out of it.? We think that it's all the things we have to get done on our "To do" list but in fact, it's HOW we are thinking about these things is what is causing our overwhelm.? Thinking that we HAVE TO get everything done puts so much undue pressure on ourselves.? This is the reason for the advise of breaking things done in small, manageable tasks.? Our brain gets to work much easier when things are in smaller chunks.? When we plan 3 hours of work, it often feels daunting.? Start with 15 minutes.? Give yourself the opportunity to break up those seeming big tasks in small subtasks throughout the day.? This provides your mind with greater clarity and focus.? In addition, it creates momentum of progression and feeling accomplished, which in turn generates energy.

2. Confusion

This is our minds way of falsely conserving energy.? We tell ourselves that we're confused so that we don't have to actually do the HARD things to progress.? It's amazing that we think like this because we're actually making it harder on ourselves.? When we indulge in confusion, we don't actually move forward on anything and end up beating ourselves up with guilt for procrastinating.? The best way out of confusion is simply making a decision.? Choosing one way path and following through will stop confusion in it's tracks and help you get traction on other things as you build your decision-making muscle.? This helps build confidence which creates more energy.

3. Indecision

This can be different from confusion as we may think that taking more time to decide is effective in helping us make the right decision.? However, spinning in indecision depletes our energy as our minds are constantly replaying the decision.? This creates decision-fatigue as not only do we have many decisions to make throughout the day, but often we're contemplating the same decisions over and over again.?? When we make decisions and honour what we have decided, we build self-trust in making the decision right for ourselves.? Also, planning ahead, help minimize decision-fatigue to free up our minds and energy for other things.

4. Pessimism

This is often used as a coping mechanism to shield ourselves from disappointment later on.? We go to worst-case scenarios because we think that this is going to soften the blow of feeling bad at some point in the future.? What we don't think about is that often, worst-case scenarios never come to fruition.? We spend so much time and energy worrying about these imagined situations that don't actually come to be.? Optimism generates energy.? Even if things don't work out as planned, feeling badly up to the point the event happens, serves no purpose and just drains energy for other parts of your life.? Knowing that you will have your own back no matter what the outcome, helps sustain a positive attitude.

5. Lack of Boundaries

We fail to set boundaries as we think that we're shutting others out or we are not being polite or kind towards others.? The consequence of not setting boundaries is derailing you from the things you want to get done in your own life.? When you don't communicate clear boundaries, you end up putting everyone else's needs ahead of your own, thereby, expending energy that could be otherwise be spent on your own priorities.? When we keep adding more to our plate, we have less energy left for what is important to us.? Communicating and honouring your boundaries, demonstrates RESPECT for yourself in addition to protecting your time and energy.

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Being aware and mindful of our thoughts and actions helps set us up for success with renewed energy.? Like everything, practice? helps us develop this skill so that we're not looking for something external to provide us with the energy that we need.? Generating and protecting our energy is OUR responsibility.?? You'll be amazed at what you can accomplish with your newfound ENERGY!?

About me

My name is Shawna Lettroy.? I am a Stress and Burnout Prevention Coach.? I help overwhelmed women managers divert burnout by managing every day stresses that lead to worry, anxiety and stress, so they can lead more empowered lives.

Join The Women Managers' Movement e-mail community where I share helpful tips and strategies, including my experiences, to help you deal with your everyday challenges with stress and burnout.

If you found this article helpful AND you want help identifying and overcoming worry, anxiety and stress, in your own life, CONTACT ME today.

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