Forward Rhythm: A Change Is As Good As a Rest
When Stopping Isn’t an Option, a Shift Can Save You
There was a time when I thought my only options were push through or shut down. Keep going until I cracked—or give up completely and disappear. But eventually, I found something in between. Something softer. Something smarter.
A third option.
Not stop.
Not quit.
Shift.
Redefining Rest: It’s Not Always About Stopping
We’re taught that rest looks a certain way—blankets, silence, nothingness. That to recover, we have to remove ourselves entirely. But what if that’s not always possible? What if your life is a string of responsibilities you can’t just drop? What if stopping feels like crashing?
Then rest has to become something else.
For me, it became change. A small pivot. A different texture in the day. Something that broke the sameness and told my nervous system, Hey, it’s okay—you’re not stuck.
Change Is Disruption (In the Best Way)
When I couldn’t rest, I started doing something else instead.
I rearranged the icons on my home screen.
I walked around the block in the opposite direction.
I changed my playlist to something I hadn’t heard in years.
I started calling the dishes “a meditation in hot water.”
None of it was glamorous.
None of it fixed everything.
But every tiny change interrupted the trance.
Burnout doesn’t just come from doing too much. It often comes from doing too much of the same.
Why This Works (Even When It Feels Silly)
Our nervous systems aren’t machines—they’re living, pattern-craving, story-detecting ecosystems. When we’re stuck in loops, they get overwhelmed. But when we introduce novelty in a safe way, we reboot our mental systems gently.
It’s not about adding more.
It’s about changing the channel.
Even the smallest change—where you sit, what you wear, what you call a task—can feel like an exhale.
“When you can’t rest, redirect.”
Micro-Changes That Saved Me This Week
These actually worked:
• Switching from energy drink to water mid-task
• Sitting cross-legged on the floor
• Letting myself journal in ugly, messy handwriting
• Turning off my network for 12 minutes and 34 seconds just to remember silence
• Dunking my head under cold water, to shock my nervous system and ground me in reality
None of these things “solved” the big things. But they softened the edges. And that was enough to keep going.
For the Days You’re Just Trying to Make It Through
If you’re in full-on survival mode, I see you. You might not get a day off. You might not have anyone to tap in for you. But I promise, you still have power.
You can pivot.
You can rename.
You can change the lighting in the room or the tone in your voice.
You can take a breath and say, “This is not the end, it’s a curve.”
The Exit Isn’t Always a Door. Sometimes It’s a Window.
The world told me I had to choose between quitting and enduring. But it never mentioned the third path: change.
A small one.
A creative one.
A meaningful one.
And often, that tiny shift was enough to save me.
“A change is as good as a rest.”
And sometimes?
It’s even better—because it reminds me I still have the power to go on.
Even when I can’t stop.
Even when nothing around me lets up.
I can pivot.
I can redirect.
I can choose something different.
And in that choice—no matter how small—I find a kind of rest that’s mine to take.
HeresToLife!
-Mary