The radical act of doing nothing

rest without guilt

Note: Life was doing its thing this week, which is why you’re getting this post on a Saturday instead of the usual Wednesday. I chose rest over hustle, and honestly, it was exactly what I needed. So, in a way, this post couldn’t be more perfectly timed. Enjoy the read!

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There’s a lot of talk these days about how rest is resistance. I get it—it’s a way to push back against the hustle culture that makes us feel like every moment of our lives should be monetized, optimized, or turned into content. But honestly? I think rest shouldn’t have to carry that much weight. Why does something as natural and necessary as taking a break need to feel like an act of rebellion? Can’t it just… be?

The truth is, rest has been treated like a luxury for far too long. We’ve been conditioned to believe we have to earn it, like it’s a reward for a job well done. But when did basic self-care become something we had to justify? Somewhere along the way, we started attaching productivity to our self-worth, and now we can’t sit down without explaining why we deserve to. I’ve caught myself doing it plenty of times. “I’ve been so busy, I need this break,” I’ll say, as if I need an excuse to relax. Why isn’t being alive enough of a reason?

For years, I worked myself to the point of exhaustion. Late nights, early mornings, juggling multiple projects at once because I didn’t want to disappoint anyone—or worse, myself. I took pride in being busy, even though it left me drained and irritable. I wasn’t just hustling; I was sprinting through life, trying to prove something to… who, exactly? My friends? My family? Society? Myself?

I used to think being “always on” was a badge of honour, like if I wasn’t working, creating, or planning my next big move, I was falling behind. But here’s the thing about moving at 100 miles per hour: you crash. Hard. And when you do, you’re forced to do the very thing you were running from: rest.

Now I’m trying to unlearn all of that. I don’t want to live in a world where rest feels radical or revolutionary. Rest shouldn’t feel like rebellion; it should feel like home. It should feel like something we can all access without guilt or shame, whether we’ve had the most productive week of our lives or barely made it through Monday.

When I think about how much of my identity was tied to being “productive,” I realise I’d spent years undervaluing myself. I thought if I wasn’t producing, I wasn’t contributing. And if I wasn’t contributing, I wasn’t valuable. But let me tell you something I wish I’d learned sooner: you are valuable even when you’re doing absolutely nothing. Your worth is not tied to your work, your output, or your to-do list. You’re valuable because you exist. Full stop.

Rest doesn’t have to look like lying on a beach or taking a two-week vacation (though if you can do that, go for it). Sometimes rest is as simple as closing your laptop at 5 PM and not opening it again until the next morning. Sometimes it’s saying no to a social event because your couch is calling. Sometimes it’s taking a nap in the middle of the day and not feeling bad about it. Sometimes it’s just doing nothing at all and embracing the stillness, the quiet.

This week, life was lifing in ways I didn’t anticipate, and I had to take a step back. Normally, I’d feel bad about “falling behind,” but instead, I leaned into the rest. I didn’t see it as something to earn or explain. I just rested. And you know what? The world didn’t stop turning. My to-do list didn’t self-destruct. Everything was fine.

I know not everyone has the privilege of rest, and that’s part of what makes it feel so radical. But if you have the opportunity to rest—even for a moment—take it. Don’t overthink it. Don’t try to justify it. Just take it. Because rest is not just an act of defiance; it’s an act of self-love.

It’s funny how people will question your need to rest, though, as if rest makes you lazy or unmotivated. Let me tell you something: the people who make the most impact in this world didn’t do so because they were endlessly grinding. They made space for dreaming, for recharging, for seeing the world through a different lens. Rest isn’t the enemy of success; it’s often the reason for it.

And if anyone tries to guilt you into feeling bad about resting, just smile and tell them, “I’m recharging to do my best work.” They don’t need to know that your best work might be simply existing joyfully in this chaotic world.

Rest isn’t some grand act of defiance. It’s not a reward, either. It’s a need, a right, a part of being human. It’s what allows us to dream, create, and show up as our full selves. So if you needed a sign to rest today, this is it. You don’t have to earn it. You don’t have to resist anything to claim it. Just rest.

And if anyone questions you, be delusional enough to think you deserve it simply because you exist. Because you do.

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