How to rest properly - change your relationship with rest and how you do it

Rest allows us to do the things that we want to do. It's the priming, the building up of energy that will later be used.

Laying on the couch like a potato is prepping for war.

Or at least that is one way of thinking about it.

Type A "go-go-go" kind of people struggle with proper rest

I can say so because I am one.

Give me an expresso shot and I'll chase my dreams.

Tell me to lay down and do nothing, I'll be out of my mind.

I am constantly overstimulated and unable to come down. It's perhaps one of the greatest weaknesses holding back my life.

How to calm down an overstimulated person

First of all, realize that scrolling on social media or consuming complex Netflix TV dramas will make you feel good in the moment, but the moment you stop, the overstimulated feeling will resurface and you'll feel overwhelmed and unwell.

Deep work and physical stimulation

Deep work - any type of prolonged work with no distractions, afterwards you feel accomplished, calm, and slightly tired

Physical stimulation - such as a shower, massage, basking in the sunlight, listening to the birds, working out, anything that brings you back to physical reality and out of your overthinking mind, I.E. being 100% mindful to the physical senses and the environment around you, to be outside of your mind

These two methods are how you calm down an overstimulated person and prep them for relaxing.

While resting, accept that it's necessary and productive

If it helps, think about how your brain is cleaning up adenosine, how your body is synthesizing proteins and building muscles, how your body is burning fat and restoring everything into order.

At least, this kind of thinking helps me.

I like the think about all the positive benefits I am getting from resting and how it's going to allow me to come back healthy and refreshed and crush my goals.

This is an important practice because:

You must be mentally relaxed in order for the rest to take place

If you are guilty and stressed and anxious, then no rest is taking place. These emotions are physical responses in your body. If you're experiencing them, that means your body's condition is not right and therefore you are not resting properly.

So it is crucial that while you are physically resting, you are mentally and emotionally relaxing as well.

Everything has to come down together.

TLDR

Rest is the other half of the coin that allows us to do great things. Make sure you are resting properly: emotionally, physically, and mentally. Prepare for rest by first calming yourself down using deep work and physical stimulation.