Pause & Reflect: What a Weeklong Mental Break Taught Me About Rest & Renewal ⏯️🧘🏽‍♀️

Oftentimes, we feel like we have to stay on the grind. We second guess ourselves if we choose to slow down or take a break. However, rest is required, & there’s nothing wrong with taking time to pause & reflect. 😴💭 Even God rested after creating everything, so why can’t you?

     Last week’s break from my usual weekly hustle for Intentional was long overdue. I’d been consistent with posting every day & blogging every week since February 2022. Straight ridiculousness! 💯 Here’s the lowdown on how I moved past feeling guilty for taking a break & how it affected me mentally, physically, & emotionally. 

My Decision to Pause & Reflect 🤔

I’m a perfectionist. It’s no secret that I expect nothing less than greatness from myself. So when I was backed into a corner last week & life had me up against the ropes, I had to make a decision: continue the standard of consistency I was delivering with my business or stepping back for a week to get my mind, body, & soul together. 🥊 Being completely mentally, emotionally, & physically exhausted, I chose my health. 

     During the previous couple of weeks, I’d been out of town on business, back & forth for cheerleading with That Lil Girl, creating things for Intentional, handling the social media for the nonprofit I’m part of, getting the kids ready for school to restart, & got with several groups of loved ones to catch up on life. Add working 40 hours a week at my full-time job, & it equaled exhaustion with a capital E. 😴 As my nephew would say, I was “doozin too much.”

     Just being exhausted still wasn’t an excuse I was willing to accept easily. I wrestled with the guilt of feeling like I was slipping. 🤼‍♀️ It’s just not in my DNA to slack on anything, & holding myself accountable is the only way I know how to move. It literally took for my eyes to burn, my body to ache, & my brain to fog over for me to say “Meia, take a break!”

Pause & Reflect Guilt 🤷🏽‍♀️

When those high expectations creep in, they’ll have you second-guessing everything that doesn’t align with your mission. I have to either be aggravated, sick, or completely exhausted in order to drop my expectations, & that’s crazy! I’m learning that it’s ok to not always be on point, always flying high, & always in grind mode, & it’s been a time! 😩

     My tribe is who got my lil tail in formation last week. It took for several of my inner circle to tell me to have a seat before I actually considered listening. Hearing it from one person, I was like “ehh.” 😒 The second person reiterated it & told me there was no reason to feel guilty because rest should be a priority. It made me think “yeah, I’ll rest eventually.”

     When the third person broke it down to me that I’d been going nonstop with posting on social media daily & doing a blog weekly, I saw it from a different perspective. 👀 Once I realized that I’d been spending pretty much every Saturday for 2.5 years scheduling posts & writing a blog somewhere between Tuesday-Thursday that would go live Thursday nights, I instantly got tired. I really was “doozin too much.” If I didn’t slow down, I was going to crash & burn SOON! 

Pause & Reflect Results 🧘🏽‍♀️

When I turned that phone off Friday…man, did I exhale! 😮‍💨 It felt so good to not have a thing planned. Grocery shopping for the weekend was done. I could exhale knowing that I didn’t have to balance creating & scheduling 7 posts with That Lil Girl’s social calendar & managing the household. Had a girl stressed just thinking about having so much to do. 

     Friday night, we grabbed food & hit the couch to watch Netflix. 📺 I knew there were  a few tasks I needed to tackle but nothing extensive. There was no pressure to be anywhere or do anything, so I was prepared to try to relax. It was a task, but I forced myself to disconnect before I lost it.

     Saturday, our social butterfly had plans. 🦋 Thankfully our neighbor was going to see The Lion King as well, so she took That Lil Girl with her instead of us having to drop her off. I don’t even remember getting dressed that day. Straight to the couch with a fluffy blanket & my boo ALL👏🏽DAY👏🏽LONG👏🏽. And Sunday was the exact same script!

     Needless to say, without the mental, physical, & emotional pressure, Monday morning felt way different. Stepping away for a few days allowed me to mentally decompress. The mental fog was gone, & I felt inspired to hit the ground running. 🏃🏾‍♀️ 

     I didn’t sweat any of the mess that happened during the week. 🙄 I didn’t feel like it was a chore to schedule my posts for the week. Come Saturday, I felt refreshed, even though I didn’t catch up on much sleep. Shoot, I was able to go out of town for a cheer competition, braid That Lil Girl’s hair, & schedule my post during that 24 hours. I honestly felt like I’d been on vacation because I felt so light. It was exactly what I needed.

Pause & Reflect Conclusions 🧐

It’s going to be a work in progress, but I know I need to step away more often when life is lifing too much. I’m learning that it’s perfectly ok to decrease how often I post. It even has me thinking about revamping some things. 💭 My creative juices are flowing.

A few gems I learned: 💎

💎 I’m not a machine, so I need to stop maxing out like I am one. 🤖 

💎 Like I tell so many other people that play the “strong one” role, you can’t be everything to everybody all the time. I need to take my own advice before I unload on someone who doesn’t entirely deserve what comes with me breaking. 

💎 It’s ok to not be ok all the time. You’re human & have emotions too. 💯 Sit somewhere comfortable, bring that Intentional Journal out, & get busy unloading. 

💎 Know your limits & stop before you reach them. 🛑

💎 Everybody’s opinions aren’t hating (something I already knew). When the people in your circle bring something to your attention, especially when it’s more than one person saying it, take it as being valid. Sometimes it’s easier to see inside from the outside. 👀

💎 Work-life balance is real. I didn’t really look at Intentional as “work,” but I guess it is. I just need to set limits & try to do more during the week, instead of doing it all on Saturdays. 📆 I also need to be more detailed in my Intentional Planner so I can balance a little more efficiently.

     We all have limits & expectations of ourselves & others, but we don’t have to always exceed those expectations. If your mind, body, or soul are saying to take a break, TAKE A BREAK! ⏯️ The world may miss you some, but you have to take care of home first…home meaning your body. 🏠