How to Quench Your Guilt and Rest

 

This past week I came down with a nasty cold, and I discovered again how difficult it is to take a break from normal life. I enjoy resting and watching movies or shows, but if I can still think and move—that is, if I’m not seriously ill or unconsciousness—I have a hard time justifying my rest.

I usually keep myself pretty busy throughout the week and weekends, because when I don’t I disappoint myself for not completing my tasks.

So when I am forced to take it easy and drop activities for a standard sickness, it is a mental battle.

The Weekend

On Saturday morning I read the post “How to Make Your Weekend a Wow Experience” by Michael Hyatt. In this post he spoke about taking a break from work on the weekends, sleeping in, doing fun things, going to church, building relationships, and other great suggestions. He said that if you rest from work—not even think about it—you will rejuvenate yourself and come back into the work week more productive than if you had worked through without a break.

So I cautiously tried this. I still did some work, but I spent most of my time indulging in activities like reading, watching a TV show with my sister, and being with friends and family.

It was fun. Yes, I felt a bit guilty, but I was also excited to see how it would effect my work the next week.

However, on Sunday night I started to form a sore throat.

Rest in Sickness

I had a suspicion that I would get sick. My sister—and roomie—was sick, but I had been drinking a lot of water, eating vitamin C, and trying to stay positive to ward it off.

But, alas, I awoke on Monday morning sick.

Being sick has a way of draining everything out of you. I dropped my physical activities in the morning and resolved to take the day easy. Expecting to lie around most of the day, I figured I could get more writing done.

But when I’m sick, writing seems like a lot of work. It’s hard to concentrate when your throat hurts and all you feel up to doing is sleeping and watching shows.

I thought of doing nothing productive on Monday, but then I remembered my easy weekend.

I decided to rally and get some useful things done—after all I could still think and move.

Advice

So when I started my violin practice, my brother-in-law confronted me. He told me he thought my motivation to push through so much was great, but that it wasn’t bad to just rest. Then my sister chimed in to say that the energy I didn’t spend moving about would be put to healing myself.

Therefore, I gave into my tired body and sat around the rest of the day.

Yet what about all those hours pleading to be used for writing? I posted in my writing group about my predicament and waited for advice and encouragement to come, and I got some.

First, I learned that it’s quite usual to have a hard time writing when you’re sick. Some writers told me how they work on different avenues of writing, like character development or reading, when they are under the weather.

And someone else told me that just one sentence of work is better than nothing. This really struck me. I didn’t need to fill all those hours. I could just do a little bit, and that would be sufficient.

Writing is hard, and adding in sickness makes it a battle. Thankfully, my family got me to rest, and my writing group showed me what I could do and that a tiny bit of work was enough.

Guilt

It is hard to take it easy when everyone around you is hopping merrily along in there lives. I feel like I should be able to rally and do the same. This is guilt.

Guilt can be detrimental to our well-being. When guilt comes, it can force you to do good things for the wrong reasons. My work and drive is a good thing, but when it comes from the guilt that I am not living up to my self-imposed standards, it is time to change the standards.

When I feel I like this I remember that whatever I do—sports, studies, etc—doesn’t matter in the end. It doesn’t matter if I miss a day of practice, because I am not living for a sport or an instrument.

My life is so much more. My life is a part of a bigger and more meaningful story. At the end of everything, as long I work for God I don’t need to succeed in anything else.

Cleared

Remembering what truly matters in life means I can take a break.

It’s still not always easy. Doubts of whether I am slacking in life still pound down on me.

But all I need to do is remember the goal of life, and I feel so much better.

It is such a strange comfort to have God as your boss. No matter where you are or how you feel there is still a way to serve Him. He is all I need to focus on.

When you’re sick it is okay to rest. Don’t feel guilty. You are more than your temporary work.

Do you feel guilty when you take a needed break? What have you told yourself to quench your guilt? Share in the comments. 

Photo Credit: Neppi. Flickr via Compfight cc