The Stigma Against Breathing

The world just seems to be getting faster and faster paced. Just about everyone I know has not just a job, but a side hustle. Maybe even multiple side hustles. In modern American society, there is a large emphasis placed on productivity being the measurement of success. And with the economy, politics, and just about everything else as it currently stands, it can feel like you’re running a marathon of productivity but still not getting anywhere. And so we keep sprinting ahead, taking on more and more in order to feel like we are moving forward in some way. I will tell you, even typing that paragraph made me feel absolutely exhausted, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you had to catch your breath after reading it.

So what keeps us in this eternal race towards a finish line that is moving ever away from us? For me personally, it’s a sense of guilt. If I am not productive, then I am not providing for myself or my household. I view myself as a parasite, leeching off my loved ones. I call myself lazy or unmotivated if I go even a second without coaching, networking, or otherwise actively building my business. This shame is deeply rooted and I have a feeling I’m not the only person experiencing these feelings around not being productive every minute of every day.

But where does this get us in the end? Society at large might say that it gets us ahead, that the endless work is what is necessary for success; that taking a moment to breathe is wasted potential, money unearned. But what I’ve realized as a coach is that quiet moments are just as important as busy ones. Now, of course, I’m not about to sit here and dismiss the very tangible reality that most young people today are having to work doubly hard for half (or less) of the resources they need to survive, let alone the resources they need in order to thrive. But I will stand against the cultural stigma that says taking a break somehow makes someone lazy or undeserving of that basic survival. We were not put on this earth to be treated worse than work horses.

So, I urge you to think on ways to find that peace, that moment to breathe, in your life this week. And I urge you to not only think of it, but to reach out and grasp it when the time comes. Take a moment from your main hustle AND your side hustle and don’t judge yourself for it. If that is a hard thing to do, reach out to the people in your support network (friends, family, a therapist, a life coach, etc.) for inspiration and accountability.

You deserve a break. Taking a break does not make you less. It’s okay to breathe.