Not just your body – but your mind, your energy, your relationships, and the systems that keep you functioning
Let me start by being a hypocrite for a minute – because I’m about to speak about something I’m still struggling to practice.
This is not advice about lowering standards or avoiding hard work. It’s about something we don’t talk about enough: the discomfort of holding two truths at the same time.
We’ve somehow convinced ourselves that rest and hard work cannot co-exist. That if you are serious, you must be always “on.” Always available. Always responding.
But that’s not true.
Yes, raise the bar. Yes, be proactive. Yes, stretch yourself. But not at the expense of your health.
Because when it’s time to rest and recover- you need to do exactly that.
I’ve seen people postpone surgeries and therapy sessions because “who is going to do my work”. Work gets done. Health gets delayed. And somehow, the promotion still doesn’t come.
That trade-off doesn’t make sense.
Maybe the real discipline is this: When you work, work wholeheartedly. So that when you rest, you don’t feel the need to explain yourself or you’re not afraid of being labeled “lazy”.
I recently saw a line that stuck with me (shout out to Kato) “The fake urgency created in corporate life for absolutely no reason is one of the worst things humans have invented“
And if I’m honest, I’ve been a victim of it too. Choosing work over my health ecosystem. Work over external relationships. Work over myself.
So here’s a reminder: Protect your health ecosystem (intentionally) because there is no version of success that is worth your health.
Disclaimer: Please note I am not a professional health advisor – Just someone who fumbled around, found out and is now trying to hydrate and stretch between emails