What Does Rest Actually Mean for You?
We are told to rest, but rarely taught how. For many creatives, rest has been colonised by guilt, productivity, or the sense that stopping means falling behind. This piece asks a more honest question: what would genuine rest feel like for you, specifically?
Rest is not the absence of doing. Research by Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith identifies at least seven types of rest — physical, mental, social, creative, sensory, emotional, and spiritual. Most people are only meeting one or two of these needs.
For creatives especially, social rest (time away from people who drain you) and creative rest (consuming art without the pressure to produce) are often desperately depleted.
This week, try asking yourself: which kind of tired am I? The answer might surprise you.