Success, entrepreneurship and career ambitions all require a go, go, go and "hustle, don't stop" mentality. Is that important? Yes, but so is taking time to unplug, give your body, brain and emotions time and space to rest and recharge.

SYMPTOMS

When you are constantly on and pushing forward, you are using a lot of physical, mental and emotional energy. Especially in high pressure jobs and when you are an entrepreneur. There is a lot resting on your shoulders that not only include your own personal life, but the responsibilities of your business, other employees, your team at work, important clients and the list goes on. 

Those types of jobs, businesses and careers require a very high level of focus, tenacity and a lot of mental strength. I often talk about having mental battles every single day about internal struggles of fear and doubt we have to fight through. Are we good enough? Is our product or service the best? What about the competition? So much is required to do our best and be our best at all times. 

If we are not careful, we can push ourselves over the edge into illness or breakdowns. That's why taking the time to rest is so important. It's a time to truly unplug, put the phone and laptop down, walk away from your desk or office and just stop. For ambitious go getters, this concept can be very hard to grasp or even want to and often times we associate stopping to weakness. It's not weakness, it's necessary and part of keeping things in balance. No one can have long term success if they are operating at a 10 all the time. In short spurts yes, but it's not sustainable long term and burn out is a very real thing. 

MINDSET

My suggestion is to think of rest periods as a safeguard against full blown burn out. Many of us have experienced that burn out feeling at some point in our lives, when our extreme, hardcore productivity finally caught up to us. When the stakes are even higher like when you have high level career responsibilities, or have invested your entire life savings into your start up, rest periods are that much more crucial.

Start thinking of it as part of your ambition and productivity. If you change your mindset and see it as an energy generating activity, it could make all the difference for you. Those rest periods allows us to slow down, calm the body and mind allow for space. Space is the place that new ideas and creativity are produced.

WAYS TO REST & RECHARGE

There are so many things we can do to to give ourselves time to take a break. We can take a vacation and visit another town, city or country. This type of break truly allows for full emersion into a completely different environment and can do wonders for resetting ourselves mentally and emotionally. 

For those that are not in the position to do a full on vacation for time constraints, financial or other reasons, there are so many others ways to give yourself the time you need to recoup. One very accessible thing for all of us to start is incorporating a daily meditation practice. Meditation is one of the greatest things we can do to invest in ourselves. It may not be easy to sit still and clear the mind, but with a commitment to doing it every single day, you give yourself the chance to practice sitting in stillness. Your practice gets better over time. 

Any type of exercise like swimming or taking a walk is a time you are engaging in the act of unplugging. I personally, love swimming because the sensation of being underwater and swimming through the thickness, really takes you out of who you are and your day to day. 

Mini vacations like spa days are also really great and you can do them at home even with lotions, facial set ups and even creating a luxurious bath. There's a technique to creating a wonderful bath experience and I'm going to finish this off with sharing my bath specialty with all of you...you will thank me ;)

1. Run the water at the warmest temperature you can tolerate

2. Add a cup of epsom salt (I prefer lavender, the scent is so calming)

3. Add lavender scented bubbles to the bath (just adds another element)

4. Light 2 candles and place them at the foot of the bath tub on the left and right side

5. Thoroughly wet a hand towel in ice cold water, wring it out and add a few drops of eucalyptus aromatherapy oil

6. Fill a glass with very cold water for drinking and keep next to bath (skip the wine, it can make you woozy and dehydrated in the hot bath)

7. Turn on some melodic music like smooth jazz, r&B, classical, Native American flute music or anything that will make you feel calm and relaxed

8. turn off the lights, water and get in

Now that you are inside the tub, relax and really get into it. You can feel the stresses from the day or week or month just leave your body. The warm water feels like a blanket of goodness and love, sort of makes you feel like a baby in a loving womb (sounds weird, but I'm totally serious.) When you start to get really hot, drink the cold water, it cools you right down. Place the cold towel over your face and lean back, just relax. The music and the candlelight adds to the ambiance of relaxation. This method helps you extend your bath time in comfort. 

When it's time to come out, you will feel refreshed, revived and renewed. After a good night's sleep, you will be ready to slay the next day and feel like a brand new person. Take the time ladies, you deserve it. No one is going to take care of us the way we can take care of us. This post is dedicated to all the ladies out there on the grind...I see you.  

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