It’s Okay to Rest

Our society is driven by the idea that we must be productive.

And while productivity is excellent, it’s easy to miss the bigger picture: our bodies need rest. Funnily enough, we won’t be productive without it.

As creators, rest is even more important to us. We rely on mental energy, and rather than stopping to replenish it, we often try to force productivity. The result is creations that lack life. There’s no spark to them.

Far too often, we’re caught up in the lie that if we aren’t creating something, we are failing as creators. The truth is that the best creators take time to rest.

By trying to force creativity, we are essentially hamstringing ourselves. We keep trying to push through, which not only exhausts us but leaves our work feeling hollow.

Any athlete can tell you that rest is essential if you want to avoid injury. The same is true for the human mind.

Psychology backs up the idea that rest is indispensable. Studies have found that a day of rest will restore your mental energy, make you more productive when you work, give you better focus, improve your short-term memory, and can even help you find more joy in your work. Perhaps most importantly for us, creative breakthroughs are most likely to come if you allow yourself to rest.

As a Christian, I believe that it’s no accident that a Sabbath is built into creation. We were designed to need rest. When we rest our stress levels are lower, our brain is better able to think creatively. And it’s from that creative well that our best stories will flow.

The point is that rest is okay. In fact, it’s more than okay. It’s essential. If you want to create well and live well, you need to rest.

Do you already take intentional rest, and if so how has it benefited you? If you don’t, how can you become intentional about resting? I would love to hear your answers!