Amid Hustle Culture, A Few Thoughts on Rest
A few years ago, I was lucky enough to stumble upon?The Nap Ministry, an organization that promotes rest as a form of resistance, citing sleep deprivation as a racial and social justice issue.?
Tricia Hersey, its founder, is a multidisciplinary artist, writer, and community organizer, and in 2013, amid her graduate studies, she experienced some personal trauma and grief in tandem with the Black Lives Matter movement gaining traction in Ferguson, Missouri. Exhausted from the reality of the world around her, she did what she felt her body needed: She napped. That decision, to honor her body with the rest she craved and inherently deserved, became the foundation of a philosophy?tens of thousands now subscribe to. That rest can be a way of reclaiming what’s yours even in a system or society that treats you like a machine. That you have the human right to prioritize health, wellness, and healing. That it’s imperative that you do, especially if you’re faced with generational exhaustion and trauma. (Hersey’s work specifically speaks through a Black liberation lens. You can learn more about that?here.)
Naturally, this philosophy has ties to the modern American workplace. Hustle culture, which Hersey has spoken about and?we’ve written about on the platform I work for, InHerSight, glamorizes nonstop work with the promise that if you put in enough hours, you’ll be rewarded—the catch being that glaring vagueness. There’s always more to do, more to achieve, and you’ll exhaust yourself trying to reach?enough, whatever that means.
Even in work environments that don’t praise hustling, there’s still a pervasive culture of overwork that guilts many of us into putting in extra hours and, eventually,?burning out.??
Consider Hersey’s rest philosophy more generally now—as a push to recognize that we all need to prioritize?non-work-related fulfillment, like rest, care, intimacy, and community, because life is heavy. To wholeheartedly embrace that concept takes intention, practice, and a drastic reframing. We’re raised to believe producing is the only path to achievement and… it isn’t.
?I struggle with this. My?CliftonStrengths assessment, which I have mixed feelings about, says “achiever” is my strongest personality trait. I love to be busy, and like many others, I spent years chasing?enough.
But as I’ve grown older, my personal life has become more complex, and the news cycle has become chaotic, I’ve found myself mentally bookmarking favorite instances of rest and fulfillment outside of work or during the workday and attempting to replicate them as often as possible:?
The common thread, I find, is that I feel most myself when I’m monitoring my energy levels and responding authentically, and that I’m able to maintain that sense of self more at work when I’ve created boundaries that allow me to put recovery first.
?That might be a far cry from Hersey’s mission, which is a form of activism. But the spirit aligns. We’re all worthy of rest. As we approach work, relationships, life, it’s paramount we claim that.?
This article originally appeared in InHerSight's newsletter The Pipeline.