I was standing at the kitchen sink, washing dishes and thinking about this blog post. My head was hurting so much but I was pushing through the pain to simply get the job done when the irony hit me – here I am mentally writing a post encouraging people to stop over-doing, while I’m over-doing myself.

Every one of my doctors has encouraged me to do what I can do, but stop over-doing. Sometimes I don’t even realize how much pain I’m pushing through until my husband or one of my kids notices and tells me I need to go lay down.

And when it comes to that, I am just annoyed that I can’t finish whatever task I’m working on.

It’s not fair. It’s infuriating. I’m not trying to run a marathon or build the pyramids by hand. I just wanted to finish the dishes!

Why do we not put importance on rest? Why are dishes more important than recovery? Why do we get upset with ourselves for needing more downtime than others?

Someone said to me a few months ago – don’t you think it’s time to give yourself a break? It brought tears to my eyes because there is always a trade off. If I lay down, someone else has to finish my task.

And that makes me feel like a failure and a burden.

I would do anything for my family. If any one of them was sick, I would insist they rest. I would want them to feel comforted by the fact I am here to take care of them. So why do I feel guilty for being the sick one?

I haven’t mastered not feeling guilty, but I am learning to stop over-doing.

Whatever you’re doing today, remind yourself you’re not just resting, you are recovering. And that is every bit as important as whatever mundane task you’re working on.

So stop beating yourself up and give yourself a break. You’re so worth it.