Take Enough Rest or Pay a Tough Price – “Restophobia™” is the fear and avoidance of taking a rest.

I am tough, I am tough, that is how many strong men fell from a podium while presenting their long-awaited speech. I have lost count of great humans (especially men) that have lost their lives working too much and taking little to no rest. It seems like the internet is not helping matters; the moment you open your phone,  

• it is either about a life you should have been living or  
• about someone you should be looking like, or  
• why you are not yet at the status/position you are supposed to be.  

It is rarely about you being awesome, already doing great, or over-achieving. There are very few encouraging kinds of stuff on the internet. It is such a terrible cycle of events, powered by greed, and has become a phenomenon.  

Bro! You must learn to rest because your body is not firewood. If you refuse, your body will take that rest when you do not want it.  

What is Rest:

CEASE! work or movement in order to relax, sleep or recover strength. You need to STOP! whatever you may be doing, especially relating to work, even work-outs, and just chill out.  

Some people do not rest because of several excuses, such as - 

1. Fear of being seen as weak 
2. Regular sense of unnecessary urgency 
3. Pleasing their employer 
4. Showing off to their colleagues/partners 
5. Dancing to their ego! 

“Restophobia™” is the fear and avoidance of taking a rest. That can be forced by another person and situation or you are intentionally avoiding rest. A word invented by Dr. Chidiebere Moses Ogbodo .

If you work during the time you are supposed to take a break, it will not make you a better person, and the incentive you may be paid for that time is just like buying a time out of your lifetime. I am sure you don’t want to sell your days short just so you can earn a penny that you won’t be alive to eat if something happens and that body breaks down.  

Sandrine Piret-Gerard of Gilead Sciences would say, “Add more years to life, and more life to years”. When you are alive, live like you are really here –fully, take a break, eat what you like, go on a picnic –with family, and sleep well.  

Learn to - leave work for the office and leave the office for family time; it is a form of taking a rest and showing yourself some respect.  

The best ways to take a rest: 

Although taking a rest does not mean that your problems will go away, it means that you are courageous enough to live with them while you work your way through them.  

Some people will feel better after doing either of these - 

1. Sleeping early and enough 
2. Walking a little longer than sitting on a bus 
3. Talking to a friend/family 
4. Logging off the social media 
5. Eating their favourite meal 
6. Meditation 
7. Yoga 
8. Massage 
9. Music 
10. Movies 
11. Intimate time with a loved one 
12. Writing  
13. Traveling 
14. Learning new things or hobby 
15. Visiting new places, mountains, picnics, etc.

You just have to try a few of these and identify what works best for you, and actually, discipline yourself enough to do it.  

Note: drinking alcohol or taking hard drugs just to log off your mind does not count as taking rest. It is a stupid thing to do. 

Importance of taking rest: 

A good rest will reduce stress, boost your immune system, and recharge you to be your best. 

Do you know why Superman will always remain a fiction? It is because there is nothing like superman in real life.

You are 'just' a human. If you die on duty, you will be replaced in a jiffy. If you stop for a while and take a rest, the work will still be done and even better because you will be in full spirit, agile, and happy doing what you do best. 

The human brain, when stressed or over-stretched can be drained of any form of creativity; at this point, you will end up doing the worst at a job that you are really good at.  

Rest vs Laziness: 

Rest is when you have worked and want to reduce stress in order to recover your energy to give your best again at work, life, or family, but laziness is when you want to sleep all day in the guise of resting without doing any work.  

Proverbs 13:4 – “The soul of the lazy man desires, and has nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.”  

The lazy man desires what hard-working people want: a house, food, vacations, money for college, and retirement. But the lazy man's desires remain unsatisfied, while the diligent gain wealth.  

Additional: To be diligent, your work must be done in a careful and determined way, and that cannot be possible when you are hallucinating due to a lack of rest and sleep. 

Tragic Records for motivation: 

• Michael Corke, who died after 6 months of total sleep deprivation. 
• Randy Gardner, exhibited physical, mental, and emotional degeneration and experienced severe insomnia. 

There are several tragic records that have happened due to people not taking rest, they refused to sleep, or exercise and made no time to just play around and refresh. Lots of unpleasant stories and the more you read about them, the scarier it becomes.  

In the end, it is only those who are alive that will enjoy the fruits of your hard labor, if you refuse to rest, now!