Read this on a Friday ;-)

It’s Friday evening. For many, the weekend has just begun.
Before you rush into recovery mode or start ticking off your “rest checklist,” I want to share something powerful I heard yesterday.

🎧 It was a short episode from Dora at Headspace radio—and it hit home.
She spoke vulnerably about experiencing burnout.

And here’s the twist: Dora teaches mindfulness. She knows the tools. She lives the practice. Still, she found herself completely worn out.
And that’s what really landed for me.

Knowing better doesn’t mean you’re protected.
Even applying the “right” tools can backfire if the intention behind them is skewed.

Dora said it beautifully: “𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙠 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝.”

How many of us do that?

Turn meditation into performance.
Turn walking into data.
Turn recovery into another sprint toward “getting better.”

I’ve done it too. I still catch myself doing it 

Because even in rest, there can be that hidden agenda: I want this to fix me.
And ironically, that mindset becomes part of the pressure.

“𝙄 𝙜𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙢𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙩, 𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙭.”

“𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡.”

What a powerful shift.
From fixing to feeling.
From doing to being.
From performance to presence.

Here are a few reflections Dora’s message left me with:
- Burnout doesn’t always look like collapse—it often wears the mask of competence.
- Even healing habits can turn harmful when they become another performance.
- Rest isn't just physical—it's emotional, social, spiritual, creative.
- We don’t always need to do more to feel better.
- Sometimes we need to stop doing and just be.

💡 Bonus insight: Not all rest is created equal.
There are 7 types of rest (Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith):
1. Physical – Sleep, naps, stretching. Recharge your body.
2. Mental – Step away from overthinking. Clear your head.
3. Sensory – Unplug from screens, noise, and stimulation.
4. Creative – Refill your inspiration through beauty or nature.
5. Emotional – Be real. Drop the pressure to perform or please.
6. Social – Take space from draining people. Connect with energizing ones.
7. Spiritual – Reconnect with meaning, purpose, or something greater.

Which kind of rest are you actually needing this weekend?

Big appreciation to Dora Kamau from Headspace for the honesty, clarity, and deep reminder that sometimes…
doing nothing is everything.

Wishing you a weekend not filled (only) with tasks to check off…
 …but with space to breathe, feel, and simply be.

Take care. Be kind to yourself. And happy weekend.
You’ve got this. ❣️