Yesterday, I took my own advice: I listened to my body and gave it what it needed. For whatever reason, I developed a headache toward the end of my shift at work. It wasn’t debilitating but, like all headaches, it was unpleasant and unwelcome. Drinking water and getting some food on the way home helped but it got worse later on. Laying down and spending time on my Kindle didn’t make it go away or reduce its intensity, so I tried other things.
The first thing I did was take some medicine, which I usually try to avoid so I don’t become dependent on it but it felt appropriate here. Next, I decided to try taking a nap. Although I usually can’t nap unless I’m thoroughly exhausted and haven’t had any caffeine for several hours, I managed to nap for about an hour and a half. I set an alarm so that I wouldn’t sleep too long as I still had some stuff to do before calling it a day. When my alarm went off and I shook off the grogginess, the headache was gone and I felt so much better. I then had no trouble finishing the rest of my tasks and heading to bed.
I enjoy pushing myself and seeing what challenges I can overcome. The sense of satisfaction I get from overcoming a difficult obstacle is incredible and hard to reproduce in other ways. However, I’ve slowly come to accept the fact that sometimes I need to take it easy for a bit. Sometimes taking a nap, skipping a trip to the gym, or otherwise resting instead of being active is the way to go. Sharpening the saw isn’t always enjoyable but it’s sometimes necessary and always worth it, both for the rest it provides me as well as how it gives me what I need to resume my normal activities later on. And I’m starting to enjoy it more for those very reasons.