Rest feels guilty

I am a human just like you, and sometimes struggle with being a human with ADHD too. I hope by sharing my story, it can help you learn a little about yourself as well.

Recently, if you have noticed from the inactivity on my website, I took a long break from working on this business.

I felt guilty. But I couldn’t always put a finger on where the feeling was coming from. I was often contributing it to other things like the current state of the world (which is stressful).

I had put all this time and money into my schooling, websites, etc just to play it safe and focus on getting a paycheck and relaxing after work. I convinced myself that the 9 to 5 to pay the bills might be enough. I finally got into a healthy work environment. This is a place I didn’t think could exist working for a company and it was comfortable. But I still was craving more.

I always wanted to work on my own business and more importantly I always wanted to do something that genuinely helps people. I cannot feel satisfied being stagnant at a company, even if it is comfortable.

Don’t get me wrong. Rest is very important. The break I took was necessary because I realized that I was burned out from the constant hustle to survive since I graduated college. Here I was presented with genuine opportunity for real rest and relaxation. I needed that to reset my nervous system from constant fight or flight to a real state of peacefulness. However, as necessary as it was, I also used rest to ignore what was blocking me from achieving my goals with this business. I could feel after some time that something was missing. In my gut I needed to make a change and the rest became stressful.

I have a business coach myself. And they helped me realize that my block was simple. I hadn’t figured out who my demographic was. If I don’t know that, how will I know how to build my business? I was dreading it because I didn’t have direction so I couldn’t even take the first steps towards success.

And that’s how ADHD works sometimes. You have to understand what your block is. What is your wall, mountain, or whatever visual works for you to describe your obstacle. Define it. Then overcome it.

Once I defined it, it was like the floodgates opened. Now I can do anything. I’m on a roll that won’t stop now that I defined my block and climbed over it.

So rest, please do. But if it feels guilty, try to sit with that feeling and ask yourself, “Am I using rest to avoid something else?”