I am always that person who is go, go, go, most of the time going until I can’t anymore. Everyday feels like a fight against the previous day to see if I can run my brain and body even further.
I have been like this my entire life, and I am sure that other people reading this can also relate to having the constant urge to get things done… or everything done in some cases. As much as it is a good thing that I have perseverance, it comes with exhaustion following right behind.
There have been weeks when I haven’t washed my laundry (luckily, I have enough clothes for two months), haven’t washed my dishes, don’t get enough sleep, don’t take out my garbage, and even forget to eat dinner. All of which are things you need to thrive but often get forgotten about.
Every so often, I get to a point where doing the bare minimum seems impossible. Every person experiences burnout when they push themselves over their limits, and as a college student balancing academics, work, and social life, burnout happens more times than I can count on my fingers.
For many years, I denied the fact that burnout is a real thing. I believed that I could push my way through anything, no matter how exhausted I get. But at one point, I stumbled upon a quote, “Many of us have been running all our lives. Practice stopping.” So why do we push ourselves when we can tell our bodies are past their limits?
I think this comes with the fact that the busyness of life never stops; you never stop getting paperwork, having constant pressure, caring for others, and having financial problems. Our brains are constantly navigating around how to solve all these problems.
Have you ever thought about just stopping what you are doing to let yourself have a break? I never did this until a few months ago, and it sure is a life-changing experience. When you overload your brain and body, your ability to produce your best work won’t happen because you never get that recharge.
So yes, I will use my free skip in class to take a nature walk. Yes, I will sleep in until noon after having a late night rather than waking up early to do schoolwork. Yes, I will take a break from schoolwork to go out and have fun with friends. All these things are how I have practiced stopping to let my body and mind recharge to their fullest capacity needed for success.