Rest is important to help you to restore, regroup, and enjoy life.
The Importance of Rest
Is rest something you make the time for or run away from? Is it something that, as a Mom, you wish you had more of but just don’t know where to fit it in? Read on for practical tips to help you to include rest more in your life. Rest is an important part of helping you to be the best person you can be.
What does it mean to rest? To rest means to take a break from normal activity to give your body, mind, and spirit a chance to renew themselves. In studying science, you may have heard the statement that an object in motion will stay in motion unless there is an action to stop it. When you rest, you reduce or stop actions that cause you to be in motion. As a mom, you may feel like you are in constant motion all day!
Caring for your family all day every day uses up a lot of energy! It is important to make the time to rest so that you can restore your energy.
Rest helps you to take a step back from the activities of life. It gives you the opportunity to renew your body, mind, and spirit. Rest helps you to have the energy and clarity to keep moving forward in life in a meaningful and purposeful way.
The Importance of rest: 3 key results
Renew
What does it mean to renew yourself?
Renew means to make something like new. It is a verb, which means it is an action word. To renew means to take action to make something new. Sometimes that action is to rest.
When you take time to rest, you give yourself the time to renew your body, your mind, and your spirit. Resting is taking a pause from doing to focus on being.
When you are moving full steam ahead in life, it can be easy to become overworked and burn out. This is not what God has in store for you at all. You can find the importance of rest mentioned in the Bible numerous times. God Himself set the example of taking time to rest. After He created the world, He rested (see Genesis, chapter 2).
In Exodus chapter 20, God gave Moses the Ten Commandments for His people. He told them to rest from their labor on the Sabbath day. This is not a suggestion, but a commandment. God knows we need rest to restore ourselves. He made us! He knows what we need.
How can you renew yourself?
Pay attention to what renews you. What activities help you to feel rested and refreshed, or even energized? What activities cause you to feel drained and worn out?
Also, notice if you feel renewed by being around other people or if you feel renewed after having time to yourself. Some people like being around others; being around others helps them to feel energized and renewed. Others would rather have time alone to get a break from people. They feel rested and renewed by having time to themselves.
When you do activities that help you to feel renewed, take note. Plan to do them more often. Make time for them in your life.
Activities and routines that help you to exercise, get enough sleep, and relax are all important to do regularly in your life. They can all help you to rest better and feel renewed. Be intentional about renewing yourself and planning activities to help you do this often.
Free resources to help you plan for rest
Do you need some tools or ideas to help you with planning each day so you make time to rest? The AM and PM Routine Guide can help you do just that.
Regroup
Do you feel scattered sometimes, like your brain is trying to do so many things at once that you find it difficult to focus on just one thing? This can be exhausting, draining most of your energy.
Regrouping means to stop and prepare yourself after one task or event before you start something new. Regrouping is a brief rest period between tasks or events.
Sometimes regrouping can be a five-minute intentional pause in your day between switching tasks. For example, when you are playing with your kids and then need to pay bills, give yourself a few minutes to mentally prepare to switch tasks. This will help you to focus better on the new task and help you to not feel overloaded with all you have to do.
At times when you are reading to one child and your toddler drops a cup of water that spills all over the floor, you may not have a few minutes to regroup. Even taking a few seconds to stretch and take a deep breath can help you to regroup before you are off to help him clean up the spill.
Some days may be so full that you are constantly jumping from one thing to the next without having the opportunity or remembering to regroup between events or tasks. On these days, making sure you have some downtime to regroup at the end of the day (instead of falling into bed late and exhausted) can help you to reset your brain from constantly switching tasks to a more peaceful state. This will help you to rest better as well. Be intentional about regrouping during your day.
Free resources to help you plan
For ways to help you avoid feeling burned out, check out 7 Ways to Take Care of Yourself.
Enjoy
Another important result of rest is that it can help you to enjoy life even more.
Do you want to be so busy with activities or mentally preoccupied with all you have to do that you do no take time to remember the joys in your life? When you take the time to rest each day or each week, you pause the activity in your life. During your rest time, you can think about the joys you have experienced, the laughter you shared with your family, and the fun you had together.
Yes, there will be difficulties in life, too, but taking the time to rest can help you to look at things with a new perspective.
Make time to rest-to stop and smell the roses, as the saying goes. Taking the time to rest and reflect will help you to see the joy you have already experienced and can give you ideas for planning more things that will give you joy in the future. Be intentional about noticing joy and planning for it in your life.
Free resources to help you plan
The Daily Planner Page is a tool you can use to help you plan each day so you add time to rest and enjoy your life.
The Importance of rest
The importance of rest cannot be undervalued. Taking the time to rest can help you to renew your body, mind, and spirit. It can help you regroup-to stop after one task before you move onto another, so you can do so with a better focus. Pausing to rest can help you to be more aware of the joys in your life so that you will enjoy your life more.
Resting is an intentional action you can take to help you to live your best life.
How can you make rest a more important part of your personal life? Leave a comment below.
If you are looking for more resources to benefit you, see Get Your Life Together! A Gift Guide for the Catholic Mom for some specific resources.
Leave a Reply