How To Build Rest Into A Life That Isn't Going To Slow Down — Part 3 of 3

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In episode one of this series, I talked about blocking off a weekend to rest and a separate time when I did nothing but stare at the ocean for four days straight, and how I didn't actually feel rested at the end of either of those. How I almost felt a larger wave of anxiety going into the next workday because of the time I had taken off. And this sentiment has been reflected back to me by my clients. You may recognize the phrase, I need a vacation from my vacation. Hi, I'm Superkate. Welcome to Connecting with Superkate for women who have too many job titles, too many commitments, and are done just getting through it. This is the third and final episode in my three-part series, Why Rest Isn't Working. If you've been following along with the worksheet, pull it out one more time. Episode three has its own section, and we're going to solidify this week's work. To be honest, those vacation moments did help a little. I felt slightly more rested, but it still wasn't enough. I wanted to know I could sleep through the night. I longed for the ability to stop jumping from one emergency to the next. And I was so fucking tired of feeling guilty for every moment I tried to claim for myself. We are sold the idea of self-care as the answer that you are a daily bath or a weekly massage away from feeling truly rested and energetic. So we try the baths, we book the massages, but the mental load never disappears. In fact, those quiet moments often give that mental load an opportunity to get louder. And so we go back to our routines. We hope that the next vacation, the next day off, the next finished project will finally be the thing that gets us the rest we need. Because nobody told us there was another way. Real rest that actually makes a difference is done regularly over time, not when everyone else decides you get to rest. As you've learned through these episodes, regulating your nervous system is what makes real rest possible. And that regulation comes from daily micro steps so that the stressors don't have a chance to accumulate and create an avalanche that causes you to say, I've had enough. And we'll talk about that more in an upcoming episode. But for now, the muscle contraction exercise from episode two can be done as you're going to bed. The shaking it off can be done in your office, in a bathroom, or in a car. There's almost always an opportunity for a walk. And one of the simplest things you can do is choose presence over multitasking in the moments that you already have. So instead of looking at your phone during your lunch, sit with your food, notice the taste of it, feel the feeling of chewing or drinking. And that's it. That is a micro step. When you wake up in the morning, instead of immediately getting up or reaching for your phone, pause. Feel your pajamas on your body. Feel the blankets and the sheets around you. Notice your inhales and exhales. That small moment of presence, even just two minutes, tells your body that you don't have to immediately go do something or think something. You're telling your nervous system it's safe to just be here for a moment. And that's how the day starts differently. All of these micro steps are your maintenance plan. And when you follow through with it consistently, not perfectly, consistently, you will feel more rested. When you feel more rested, you are more creative, more energetic. You'll find yourself enjoying things more. The people around you will notice. And it's quite possible they'll begin to change as a result. I have proof of that in my own life. Now, I want to come back to the baths and the massages for a second. I made a dig earlier, and I want to be clear, those things are genuinely good opportunities to regulate your nervous system. What's missing when people talk about them as the solution is they're not maintenance, they're events. And most of the ambitious women I know might get one bath a week, if that, which means they're missing the daily regulation that makes true rest possible. Bath is great. So this is what I want you to do. Figure out one moment in your day when you can start incorporating one of these tools. One moment you can practically guarantee belongs to you. It doesn't need to be long. Even two minutes consistently will start to make a difference. The women I work with who make the most progress aren't the ones who find the most time. They're the ones who decide they're worth the two minutes. So this is your moment. And if it's hard to think you're worth two minutes, know that I think you're worth two minutes. And give yourself a small break and think, perhaps I am worth at least two minutes. Now, open the episode three section of your worksheet. If you don't have it yet, the link is in the show notes. Or grab a post-it, your planner, anything you'll actually see. Because what you're about to write down matters. First, what is the one tool that resonates with you? Tensing your body, shaking it off, um, morning or lunchtime presence. Second, when in your day will you use it? And then I want you to write this down for yourself. I am tired of being tired. I am excited to feel fully rested. And I am committed to insert your tool of choice every day or as often as possible to release stress regularly so I can enjoy my life more. Got it? Great. Congratulations! You are choosing something different. I want to thank you for being here for this series. If you've listened to all three episodes, you now understand why rest hasn't been working, what your body needs before it can rest, and how to build it into your actual life. And that's the work, and you have showed up for it. If you're interested in feeling more rested, feeling energetic, feeling creative, and you want more of this work, book a sales call. And I look forward to connecting with you.