Have you ever caught yourself trapped in a cycle of guilt during what was supposed to be your downtime, or found yourself rigidly adhering to a schedule that leaves no room for the unexpected twists of life?
Today I'm sharing a piece of my own journey, I read a piece from a recent journal entry where I take a moment to pause and explore the "shoulds" that interfere with my rest while I learn to embrace change and practice self-compassion in practice.
Let's reevaluate the essence of true rest and the surprising effects it has on our energy and creativity. Releasing the expectations of constant productivity can actually propel us forward in ways we hadn't imagined.
This episode is for those of you seeking permission (which you don't need and can only really give yourself) to relax without the weight of guilt—for those who are looking for inspiration to be kinder to yourselves. Let's explore the importance of flexibility in our routines and how accepting our current state can lead to greater brain-body resilience.
what is up? Hello there, my name is jessica patching bunch, you can call me jpb, and this is brain body resilience. This is a podcast dedicated to growth, human development and stressing a little bit less so you can go ahead and live a little bit more.
Speaker 2:
Hello and welcome back to episode number 176 of the Brain Body Resilience podcast. I am your host, jade Peebee, and today's episode is a little piece from my own journal that led me to other thoughts, which then led me to want to talk about that here with you. But before we get into this, if you listen frequently or weekly, like some of you do, you may have noticed that the episodes are coming out at different times, and I used to have a very strict publish by Sunday night deadline, and that has changed a little bit in recent months. So I wanted to discuss that. My schedule at work has shifted a bit, which contributes, and also I am practicing more flexibility and compassion towards myself. I do greatly value consistency and showing up here is important to me because I know that some of y'all listen each week and I am so grateful that you do and at the same time, I am learning to honor my own needs and capacity as I move along my own journey. Episodes are still weekly and I try to get them out on Mondays still, but if not, they will show up within a couple of days. I try to get them out on Mondays still, but if not, they will show up within a couple of days, and the great thing is that shows you listen to frequently will tell you there is a new episode, and so I wanted to speak on that for a moment, because I have been feeling some kind of way about not showing up exactly at the same time every week as I once did and maybe will again, but right now this is what fits my schedule and my capacity, and so, if you zoom out a little bit here, I am talking about flexibility in routines and allowing for change and adaptability, along with patience and compassion for yourself in the presence of all of that. So weekly episodes will continue for now, but I wanted to talk about it in case you are used to looking for the new episode right away, on Monday morning or, I guess, tuesday evening or wherever else, whatever day and time it is where you are at. So with all of that, let's get into this. Here's a little piece from a recent brain dump journal of mine.
Speaker 2:
Acceptance is a thing right now I'm living into not doing things that I don't want to do, most of which would probably benefit my business goals, but I feel really good entertaining the lack of care. Not sure it's even that I care and I know I'll do it or I won't. But right now I'm not into it. Acceptance is magical, immediately and also, I know, momentarily, I feel free from the weight of the thing I should be doing, free from the worry of what if I don't? Because I'm not and I can choose to do those things anytime I want, and that time is not now. How can I rest when I'm constantly thinking about the things I should be doing? Here's the thing with should. It's a thing we're attached to mentally and we're not doing so release that attachment and accept the choice to just be. Do not do the thing. Accept whatever choice you make. But I tell you this shaming yourself for what you are not doing isn't helping it get done and it doesn't make sure that you will do it. It just makes you feel like shit because you're not doing it and you are not going to want to do it like that. So put it down. There. You have a glimpse into my mind. There was a shift there at the end where I recognized that I wanted to share that piece and started talking to you rather than to my page alone.
Speaker 2:
For so many of us when we are resting I have quotation marks here I. We're really just shoulding ourselves the whole thing the whole time, all the things we should be doing, instead this list running through our heads. We're feeling uneasy, we can't actually, we're tense, we can't just rest. We are not resting because we're thinking about all the things that we could be doing. Should be doing feeling guilty when really with the rest. Doing feeling guilty when really with the rest, with actual rest, you'll probably have the energy, desire, curiosity to do that thing. Or maybe it's really just not for you. Maybe you have the energy and the space to consider. Is this even my goal? If it is important, you will circle back to it. If it's not really your goal, you're free to just put that shit down.
Speaker 2:
So many of the things we put on ourselves to do are out of expectations from others about how to be successful, how to be good especially women here, in the way that we are socialized to fit into a box of what a good again in many quotation marks a good mom, wife, daughter, friend, ceo looks like according to someone who just made that up at some point. Someone who just made that up at some point, but the important part of there is someone else what it looks like to be healthy, to take care of yourself, to take care of others, what it looks like to enjoy life, but make sure you're not enjoying it too much, because you've still got all that shit to do. Put all of that down. Yes, it feels very uncomfortable. Yes, it will probably be scary, going against some of the ideas and beliefs and feelings that you've held for such a long time. That discomfort and fear are heavy, so let them go. Yes, there are things that we need to do to have our basic needs met that we can't just not do if we don't feel like it Going to work, taking care of kids, which I know nothing about, because it is way too hard and I understand that there are things that must be done, and so even more so.
Speaker 2:
Quit shooting yourself about all the little shit that doesn't really matter or doesn't matter to you. Something only matters if it in fact matters to you. Otherwise, it just matters to someone else, and then they can deal with that. They can think about it, they can do it. They can worry about that. They can think about it, they can do it. They can worry about it. They can guilt about it. They can do whatever they want with it, but it's not yours, so you can put it down. Don't make the small things big things. It's okay, just to put it down. And the great thing is, when you put something down, you might be able to better see if it's something you want to pick back up or not, and you get to choose.
Speaker 2:
All right, that's all I've got today. Thank you for being here. This one's a shorty, but I just really wanted to to share these ideas and thoughts. I I know there's so many of us that can relate to this, and and I know that there are so many of us who are shooting all over ourselves all the time and not able to rest because of that. So thank you for being here. I am grateful for you and I am over here wishing you a beautiful week. Until next time, oh, yes, and please take a few seconds to leave a review, especially if you're listening on Apple podcasts. It helps me reach other folks and, like always, if you found this episode useful, please do share it with a friend that also might need to hear it too. All right, until next time, wishing you a beautiful week, peace.