Rest
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6 min read
How to rest when you feel you haven’t earned it
Many high achievers treat rest as a reward. That turns it into something you never quite deserve. Let’s change the deal.
Iris Calder
Life coach, ICF PCC
“I’ll rest when this project is over.” I hear it every week, and I said it myself for eleven years. The project always ends. Another one always starts.
Rest is not a prize
When rest depends on finishing, it becomes a reward you never quite earn. Try treating it as maintenance instead, like sleep or charging your phone: not a treat, just part of how things keep working.
Start smaller than feels useful
Ten minutes, outside, without your phone. Every day for a week. It will feel too small to matter. It is not about the ten minutes. It is about proving to yourself that nothing collapses when you stop.
Notice the guilt, then keep going
The guilt will show up. Name it, let it sit with you, and finish the ten minutes anyway. After a week or two, it gets quieter.
Written by Iris Calder
Iris is an ICF-certified life coach based in Lisbon. She helps capable, busy people rebalance the life they’ve built, one small change at a time.
