The Lies We Tell Ourselves About Rest

It was almost midnight when I caught myself whispering the same old promise. Just finish one more email. One more edit. One more task. Then I’ll rest.

The screen glowed back at me, harsh and relentless. My body was heavy, my thoughts blurred at the edges, but still I pressed on, bargaining with myself. I’ll make up for it this weekend. I’ll catch up on sleep later. I can push through tonight.

That is the lie I know best: that rest can always wait.

We tell ourselves lies about rest all the time. We call it discipline, or commitment, or grit. We say we are being responsible, productive, dedicated. But underneath those words lives something much harder to admit. Fear. Fear of slowing down. Fear of being seen as lazy. Fear of losing ground in a world that glorifies exhaustion as proof of worth.

The truth is simpler, and far less glamorous: rest is not a luxury. It is not a weakness. It is not something you can postpone or catch up on. It is the very thing that keeps us human, creative, and whole.

The First Lie: “I’ll Rest Later”

Later is the most seductive lie of all.

I used to believe I could bank rest the way you might save money. Work hard now, and later I would pay myself back. I said it to myself before…