Chances are, you worked your tail off this week.
As you head into this weekend, here is the question: Will your weekend be one of reprieve, or one of restoration? Here is the difference:
Reprieve is when you take a temporary break from the pressures of life. You have a few drinks, you watch a lot of TV, you mindlessly scroll on your phone. . . The problem is, at some point you have to return to face your life. If your weekend is all reprieve and no restoration, you drag in on Monday morning somehow more exhausted than you were on Friday. That’s no way to go about your life. Your tank is not built to be filled solely by reprieve.
Restoration is much different than reprieve. Restoration occurs when you engage in practices that refill you to face your life. What if you took some space this weekend to go for a walk, journal, or connect with those who matter most? Perhaps the even bigger question here is, “As you look back on your life, what practices have you engaged in in order to experience restoration?”
Take space this weekend to just be. Deep breaths help you to exhale what is past and accept what is present. You are more than the sum of the roles you play in your life. When you believe this, you will find it much easier to assess your needs and wants, and get those needs met in a healthy way. While reprieve may help you blow off a little steam, restoration will bring you the presence you need to face your life with fidelity and flare.
If you avoid your own restoration for too long, burnout occurs. Here are the signs of burnout:
- Exhausted every day
- Can’t turn off work at home
- Drinking everyday
- Irritability
- Cynicism
We live in a world that prioritizes doing and achieving over rest and retreat. As a result, your work, responsibilities, and ambitions may have a tendency to take over your life.
The good news is, you can reclaim your sanity. You can reclaim your soul by engaging in restorative practices that refill you to face your life.
Here’s to a weekend where you re-write old patterns of reprieve with new rhythms of restoration. You deserve this.