You Must Prioritize Rest

Dear friends,

I was very sick this week. I still am a little bit.

My problem with being sick is that I recover slower than most people. This isn’t because of problems with my immune system or body; the reason I take so long to recover is that I take a long time to submit to my sickness and rest.

A few weeks ago, I told my dad that he could stop being sick by “just telling yourself that you feel great.” While I was half joking, I was also being half serious.

“Choose not to be harmed - and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed, and you haven’t been.” - Marcus Aurelius

This is a quote that stood out to me while reading the work of Marcus Aurelius because I believe it to be true. What this week taught me, however, is that it is only applicable under certain circumstances.

My personality type— the one that feels the need to constantly be doing something productive and meaningful that is moving me in a “forward” direction and feels bad when I am not doing those things— really struggles with sitting on the couch and binge-watching Brooklyn 99 while sucking on cough drops and drinking camomile tea with honey. It took me 3 days of feeling like I was swallowing daggers and barely being able to hear because of how stuffy I was to understand that the ONLY way I was going to get better was by actually resting.

I was amazed at how good I felt after taking a nap yesterday, and now I wonder, " What if I had napped on day 1 when I started feeling bad instead of sending 20 emails and going rock climbing?”

Our culture, at least the people I surround myself around, really minimizes the importance of rest. I still do. Trust me, although I am writing this very thing right now, I will overwork myself next week. I really can’t help it. What I am becoming aware of, though, is that when you need to rest, you need to rest. There is no way around it. The less you procrastinate and the more effort you put into it, the less you will have to do it. It is like anything.

It needs priority.


The Grateful Podcast:

I have a podcast where I interview people much smarter and more qualified than me talking about how you can live a more purposeful life full of gratitude and ambition. 
I release episodes every Monday where I go over a lesson I’ve recently learned.

Every Wednesday and Saturday I release an episode with a very cool guest. 

You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or find the video version on YouTube.

This week’s episodes:

Monday: Feeding Obsession Through Scarcity: How To Love The Journey

I will dive into my thought process writing this newsletter and more personal examples of feeding obsession through scarcity.

Wednesday: Applying Ancient Wisdom to Modern Problems with Rabbi Manis Friedman

Saturday: Generation Z: Is the Future Really Bright? with Elliot Bewick

Coaching:

If you’re ready to take action and need guidance, I’d love to help.

I have limited space available so if you’re interested, book a free 15-minute call with me to discuss your dreams and how to start making them happen. 

You can shoot me an email at [email protected] where we can get scheduled.

Make this week rock. Thank you so much for reading this; I’ll see you next week.

With love,

Jack Wagoner