093 When I relax, I feel guilty

Busy. Busy. Busy. We can get so busy and so pressed by activity that, when we finally relax, we feel guilty. What’s up with that? We talk about this unhelpful phenomenon in today’s Reinventure Me podcast.

This week’s Inspire Me quote is from Albert Einstein:

“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.”

Guilt is often a good thing, but not when it comes to relaxing. Why do we feel guilty when we relax? It may be because we are avoiding something, we are over-functioning, or we haven’t accepted our limitations. How do we address these feelings of guilt?

1. Reframe relaxation as a renewal strategy vs. an escape.
2. Remember its importance. Relaxation accelerates learning, detoxifies stress, and increases focus and productivity.
3. Be intentional. Schedule relaxation, be fully present, and commit to the full time.
4. Affirm its value when returning to work: “I have just given myself a break and I’m in better shape than I was before” and “There are new ideas and energy that I have yet to unlock as I work on this project.”
5. Remember the why when disengaging and re-engaging. “This work is important because ___________.” 

Quotes from the show:

• “If we’re truly living, if we’re truly doing inspirational work, then we’re always going to have more than we can do—because we’ll always be thinking creatively about what it is that we are doing.” —Leary
• “The real work isn’t in creating the things to do, it’s in picking the the very best of the things that we have in front of us.” —Leary
• “Don’t shut down your idea factory. Use it to generate the best and pick from the best—not with the need that you have to do it all.” —Leary
• “We need relaxation in order to become revitalized.” —Leary
• “We need to think about it [relaxing] as a renewal strategy, not an escape.” —Leary
• “I don’t know that God needed rest. I think God rested because that’s what you do when you create. That’s part of the creative process. You create and you rest, you create and you rest. That’s part of the creative cycle.” —Leary

This week’s Challenge Me:

Think about how you can intentionally build relaxation into your schedule. Then, schedule it in. Start practicing being fully present during these times of relaxation. Affirm the value of relaxing when you return to work. Then, observe what happens!

Resources mentioned in or related to this podcast that may be helpful to you:

• Episode 40, “How to stop wasting time.”
• Leary’s blog post, “My good work and good rest checklist.”