06/02/2026
There was a conversation yesterday with a woman who said, āIām struggling to take rest days and honestly, the days I feel the most exhausted are the days I tend to push harder.ā
I hear this all the time.
Somewhere along the way, many of us were taught that exhaustion means we need more discipline. More pushing. More grinding. More proving ourselves.
But hereās what I want you to understand, especially in midlife
When your nervous system is stuck in survival mode, rest can actually feel uncomfortable.
So instead of slowing down, we override the signals. We stack back to back workouts. We ignore the fatigue. We convince ourselves weāre being lazy if we pause.
Meanwhile, our bodies are praying for recovery.
Your muscles rebuild during recovery.
Your hormones regulate during recovery.
Your nervous system settles during recovery.
And sometimes the strongest thing you can do is take the damn walk.
Breath
Nap
Or simply do less
So if you landed on this today feeling exhausted, this is your permission slip.
I see you.
Shirlee š¤
