Man, it has been a while since we have posted here, huh? But it reminded me of how important it is to your body, mind, and soul to just take a break sometimes. Granted, the last thing you want to do is procrastinate to the point of stressing out once you reach a deadline (as I did so many times in high school and college), but you have to remember that without rest, your “productive time” will probably be more like “destructive time.”
Have you ever tried running your car without a tank of gas? Gets you nowhere, right? Ever tried putting anything other than gasoline in the tank to try to get your car to run? Congratulations, you now own a 2 ton boulder! The damage done to the car by the lack of fuel is hard, if not impossible, to reverse. All you’ve done is destroyed your vehicle.
So, what happens when you do that to you? If you neglect rest, meals, sleep, social activities (that you enjoy and feel refreshed by), and leisure, then you will just be putting everything except gasoline into your tank.
Feel excited about a project you’ve started? Don’t work on it on overdrive for a week straight! That is a perfect recipe for burnout, exhaustion, and, eventually, bitterness. Make time for your work AND make time for a break.
I understand we all wear many different hats. I’m a part-time youth pastor, full-time teacher, part-time worship pastor, husband, dog-owner, tutor, son, brother, friend, podcast co-host, blogger, and aspiring recording musician. Believe me when I say I know it’s hard to find a break in between the madness. But I also know that it’s impossible to stumble upon a worthwhile break. Either you take a break or YOU break and are forced to be sidelined for a much longer duration than you wanted in the first place.
So, what counts as a break? Anything you enjoy and feel energized after participating in. My breaks include video games, card games, a day of shopping for books, reading books, and playing music (all of these things typically done with my wife). Sometimes, I’ll watch a couple episodes of a TV show or YouTube videos to try to catch my breath before my other responsibilities are tended to. But I always tend to them.
If you haven’t seen your closest friend in a while, maybe that isn’t the healthiest decision. If you have only been grinding, hustling, or whatever the “cool” term is for working your tail off, then maybe it’s time for one of these fabled breaks before you’re forced into one by the breakdown of your body, mind, or soul. Every ounce of energy you put out doesn’t have to go to something directly productive. Sometimes, it needs to go into storing up enough energy so you can be productive.
So, take a break. And I don’t mean a measly five-minute breathing exercise in your living room while staring at your laptop screen trying to answer emails, sort your budget, and come up with your next big idea. I mean take a day. Take a week if you have to. At the end of the day, no one will care about your productivity levels if they never knew you. No one cares about your car, house, or financial status if you’re unapproachable as a friend. The truth is, the more you are working, the less likely it is that anyone feels like you care about them at all.
I say this because men tend to act this way. We want to prove ourselves to our families, provide the very best of everything to our families, and work our butts off just to have a house we never sleep in, a car we never have time to wash, and a wife we only see in pictures. Take a breath. Take a step back. And rest. Otherwise, you’re just wasting your life.
-Micah Davis
The Soapbox 