We’re just over a week into 2026 and all I can say is that I’m already run down! I’m feeling strangely excited and hopeful for this new year, yes, but this holiday period has been absolutely hectic! 🤪

Since Christmas, we’ve been up and down the coast, done one-day road trips to visit family outside of Brisbane, had multiple playdates, even a visit to ED, and are now juggling the return to work while our childcare is still on their break. Well, this week, my body has finally had enough!

You’ve heard it many times and it’s something we all know (myself included), but when you keep pushing yourself and running on high stress/fight mode for too long, you’re going to break. So, what’s the solution? Rest? Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Well, I made sure to “rest” and I still broke. Because the truth is, there’s so much more to resting than the word alone implies.

Let’s face it, for a lot of us (mums especially), rest usually seems ineffective or impossible. We’re exhausted, but whenever we get a moment to ourselves, or when we finally get some peace and quiet to rest, we can’t. Our minds won’t shut down, our bodies are still tense, and – moment of truth here – how many of us actually stop instead of finding something else to do, even if it’s “just something small” (like the dishes or the laundry)? 🙋‍♀️

The sad thing about the world these days is that it doesn’t just value productivity and resilience, it demands it. We’re expected to push through our exhaustion and mountains of work, and just keep going, even at the cost of ourselves. I had an employer once tell me while I was mid-breakdown that in their day, people would just suck it up and keep going.

It’s not just work, but motherhood as well that trains us to ignore our limits. We’re scared to slow down or stop because we feel guilty, lazy, undeserving, scared of being judged, or maybe all the above. But our worth does not come from how much we get done. I said it in a blog post last year and it really resonated with some of you, so I’ll say it again. Our worth is not measured by our productivity. You are already worthy, and we are all worthy of rest.

So how can we get rest? I think the first thing we must realise is that rest isn’t just physical; it can be mental, emotional, or even spiritual. For example, if your mind is overwhelmed trying to process everything that’s happened in your day, you’re not going to feel restored by lying in bed and scrolling on your phone. But you might find the rest you need if you sat with a hot cuppa and did some journalling to filter your thoughts instead.

That’s what true self-care is. Our culture has oversimplified self-care to the point where we hear the words and all it brings to mind are things like a relaxing bath, going for a walk, taking some deep breaths, or having a hot drink. Don’t get me wrong – those things are lovely, and they are definitely acts of self-care, but true self-care is giving yourself what you need for your overall health and wellbeing. So, it’s not just ticking activities off a self-care list, it’s about matching the activity to your restorative needs.

And the most important thing I’ve learnt about rest and self-care (and the reason why I’ve already run myself down this early into the new year), is that it’s not about if you are doing these things, but how much of them you are doing. Everything is always about balance. It’s physics.

If you’re constantly pushing yourself at high rates and with huge loads, then the amount of rest, self-care, or cup-filling you do needs to match what you’re pouring out. Otherwise, you end up in a deficit. And if you keep going while you’re like that, eventually your body will force you to stop out of sheer exhaustion. That’s why so many people easily fall sick when they’re stressed.

So now that we’re aware of why rest feels so hard, we can work around it to make sure we get rest that actually helps! Do some self-reflection and ask yourself, what kind of exhausted am I, and what kind of rest do I need? And remember that small, consistent periods of rest and self-care can do more for you than the occasional, irregular but “perfect” self-care.

And the biggest (and hardest) thing to work on: your mindset on rest. Rest isn’t a reward for how much you get done or for when you get everything done. Rest is necessary. You’re not lazy, you’re not undeserving, you’re not a failure, and don’t let yourself or anyone else make you feel guilty for resting.

You are allowed to rest no matter how busy, messy, or overwhelming life feels. In fact, you’re allowed to rest especially then. Remember this as you go through 2026. Happy New Year, my friends, and here’s to a restful year ahead! 💛