TL;DR:
- Rest with intention each day.
- Listen to your body, mind, and soul and ignite your inner passion to share with the world.
- (R) Re-Connect from Within (E) Embrace Yourself in Joy (S) Simplify Your Priorities (T) Trust in the Timing.
As educators, I am sure we have all played, or at least heard of, the word association game. You know the game where someone says a word, and you say what immediately comes to your mind. It might be a little unconventional, but we’re going to play that game here on the blog.
When you read the word rest, what comes to mind? I’d invite you to take a moment, find a sheet of paper, and write down your thoughts. What do you feel? What thoughts come up for you? What desires do you have? Use this reflection to truly identify the personal connection you have to the word rest.
I remember the first time I did this same activity. I wrote down three words. Three simple words. And they were: not enough time.
And based on what I see and hear from educators, both in person and via social media, many educators would relate to those three words. When we think about rest, we often know it’s important. We recognize our bodies need it. Yet, it’s often the first thing we avoid when those moments come.
When we learn to listen to our bodies and our minds, they will always lead us to what we desire. It’s taking the time to practice listening within. Click To TweetSo why is that?
While I am sure there is a lengthy, psychological explanation, all I can really share is my own experience. And for me, the reason I avoided rest was pretty simple. I thought people would think I was lazy or that I didn’t care about my job or other priorities. I believed that in order to be worthy of appreciation from others, I had to prove my worth by doing everything for everyone. As I’ve shared many times before, these actions ultimately led to burnout, frustration, and pure exhaustion.
Since this time, I’ve embarked on my own personal growth journey, and a lot of this journey has been redefining my own definition for the word rest. What was once seen as a negative is now a standard that I live by. The standard is: I rest with intention every single day.
Resting with Intention
Yes, every day. It’s non-negotiable. What is negotiable is the length of time and what rest looks like. Just like everything that has to do with you, YOU get to define what rest means for you. And yes, in case you need to hear this, it’s okay for that definition to change each day. In fact, I would argue it needs to change each day. The type of rest that your body, mind, and soul need each day will vary as our experiences vary.
Some days, rest for me looks like sitting and watching TV for 20 minutes after school. Other days, it’s listening to a 5-minute meditation. Some days it includes a walk in nature. The key is learning to listen to what your body needs and before you begin to rest, set your intention proudly. It can be something as simple as a statement like this: “I am setting my intention to rest with purpose. To listen to my body and to honor the rest that is coming to me.”
What I have learned is that when we learn to listen to our bodies and our minds, they will always lead us to what we desire. It’s taking the time to practice listening within. With this practice comes opportunities to rest with intention and reignite our passion for our lives every single day.
[scroll down to keep reading]
Putting REST Into Practice
Something that helped me redefine what rest could mean for me was this acronym that I’d love to share with you today.
R: Re-Connect from Within
E: Embrace Yourself in Joy
S: Simplify Your Priorities
T: Trust in the Timing
I hope that this can offer you the reassurance and guidance that will help YOU create your own definition of rest, so that you too can rest with intention each day and learn to listen to your body, mind, and soul and ignite your inner passion to share with the world!
About Lindsay Titus
Lindsay Titus is a K-12 Behavior Specialist with a license in behavior analyst. As a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, Lindsay coaches and trains educators on the study of behavior and how to implement evidence based behavior principles in simple and easy ways! With experience as a classroom special education teacher, and behavior specialist in public schools, residential placement, and private settings, Lindsay enjoys working with all educators looking to reignite their passion for education, connect with all students, and conquer challenging behavior in any classroom setting.
