Recovery Is Not a Luxury
Learning to protect your energy when you’re wired to give it away.
Sometimes you need a recovery day.
Rest gets a bad reputation. We associate it with beaches and spa days, like it’s supposed to feel effortless and natural. But for a lot of us, rest is actually hard work. It means telling that voice to stop pushing for one more hour, one more task, one more item off the list.
I’ll be honest about why this is hard for me specifically.
I find it easy to let the needs of others come first. Sometimes even the needs of strangers. I’m lovingly called neurospicy sometimes, and that has a way of making me forget myself more often than I’d like to admit. I can become so hyperfixated on what’s in front of me that I completely miss my stomach growling, the need to sleep, or something as basic as a bathroom break. And then comes the guilt for all the things I said yes to that I probably shouldn’t have.
I love being a helper. That’s real. But I’ve had to learn, repeatedly, that I can’t pour from empty.
Rest isn’t the opposite of productivity. It’s maintenance.
Build a support system that actually supports you.
Keeping a full plate is a choice I make. That means I need infrastructure to protect it — people, places, and practices that don’t just avoid draining me, but genuinely create space for me to discharge and recharge. That’s not a luxury. That’s a requirement.
Your needs are non-negotiable.
Be honest with yourself. Not PR honest — actually honest. It’s easy to spin your own narrative, to reframe exhaustion as dedication or avoidance as strategy. Downtime is one of the ways you cut through that noise and get real about what’s actually serving you. And when you’re clear on that, you become far more effective at serving everyone else too.
Set boundaries that hold.
Don’t let perception poison the process. That might mean keeping your recovery day quiet. Or it might mean announcing it so the people around you help reinforce it. Either way, protect it like it matters, because it does.
For me, recovery doesn’t always look the same. Sometimes it’s binging the latest trending show. Sometimes it’s online gaming — Fortnite, Diablo, or disappearing deep into Path of Exile on the Xbox. Other times it’s as much sleep as I can get, prayer and meditation, a low-tech day, or a full movie marathon. The form changes. The need doesn’t.
Athletes understand recovery. People coming through medical procedures understand it.
Recovery is the cost of sustained output.
And debt, left unaddressed, collects interest.
Don’t let guilt, fear, or outside expectations keep you from what you need to keep going.
What does recovery look like for you? Reply and tell me. I’d genuinely love to know.
Wishing you as much unapologetic and necessary recovery as you need.
Rest is an important part of being and effective leader. Our worldviews often tell us that we must work hard so we can play hard. And that hard work gets rewarded. That is not true by itself. We must be wholistic in our approach to leadership. Rest is essential! So for me I like to go and sit by any body of water (e.g., rivers, lakes, or oceans) and appreciate my smallest in the Creators great big plan! A part of what He created to meet my needs and enjoyment.
Now, real talk…I must do a better job at creating and protecting my boundaries around my rest.
Great insight! Thank you!
I am often in danger of depletion, because I don't listen to the signals. Right now, rest is giving myself permission rest. In that simple, I can let the stress our of my neck and my shoulders. It's having the right mindset, rather than my activity. The right mind, opens the way for me enjoy any activities!