In the 20 years, I have spent on this planet, I found that the hardest things for us to do are usually the best for us. By this, I mean, forcing ourselves out of our comfort zone. Doing something that makes us scared; the thing we have always wanted to do but didn’t, due to the fear of failure. 

What if it doesn’t work out? Oh, but what if it does? 

Sometimes, one of the hardest things is doing nothing. On the other hand, sometimes, the thing you need most is to do nothing. The next time you feel completely overwhelmed, when your mind is racing, your heart is pumping and you feel restless, I dare you to simply do nothing. I  dare you to do the very thing that scares you; most of the time, this is the thing that is making your head spin like crazy, anyways.  

For me, one of the hardest things to do is rest. As a student-athlete, especially this semester, I am constantly multi-tasking. I am either playing tennis, or doing schoolwork, and in the extra free time that I have, I try to be social and see my friends. The truth is, between my workload with school, and the obligations I have as a member of the tennis team, I do not always have the time to be social and see my friends. 

A lot of the time, I am running on almost empty trying to fit everything in one day; after all, we only 24 hours, and at least 7 of those are allocated to sleep.  Therefore, rest is something I rarely allow myself. I feel like it has caused me to have a negative view on taking a day to just do nothing.  

Due to my constantly tight schedule, I often find myself feeling guilty on the days I either do not have tennis or do not do schoolwork. The worst is when I don’t do either–those days, my head is on a constant loop of how I am not doing enough. 

The truth is, this isn’t normal. 

It isn’t normal to feel bad on the days you allow yourself to simply rest. If you don’t allow yourself to rest, how are you going to accomplish everything you need to during the week?  

Resting isn’t something you “earn” because you had a long week. Resting is something everyone should have; it is not earned; it should already be given. You don’t need to have a long week in order to rest. There are no qualifications for whether you deserve to rest. In order to function properly, you need rest. There is no reason to feel guilty for giving your body what it needs. 

Being honest with yourself about the things you may be neglecting is no easy task, but  sometimes, it is necessary. The things we fear are often the things that will help us grow. Getting  out of your comfort zone isn’t a bad thing.  

My challenge to myself this month is to stop beating myself up over giving my body the rest it  needs. Feeling guilty about resting defeats the whole purpose of it–it should be a rest to your  mind, body, and spirit.  

This month, I dare you to challenge any self-limiting beliefs and step out of your comfort zone.

You deserve it.