Episode 9
Need to Do Nothing for a While? It's Okay If You Just Rest
Doing nothing can feel uncomfortable – especially when you care deeply about your work, your goals, or the people you're showing up for. But sometimes, pushing through becomes too much.
This short reflection is a reminder that rest isn’t laziness.
Taking a break isn’t a failure.
Pausing doesn’t mean you’ve given up – it means you’re listening to what you need.
If you’re feeling the weight of burnout, this is your permission slip to stop producing for a moment, to let things breathe, and to remember that stillness is its own kind of strength.
Transcript
00:06
Hey, this is It's Okay If, bite-size permission slips. I'm Matt Gilhooly, and today's permission, it's okay if you need to do nothing for a while. I'm not great at this one. Doing nothing? Yeah, not too easy for me. Especially when it comes to things that I care about, like the LifeShift Podcast. You see, there was this stretch of time where I worked so far ahead, like 16 weeks ahead,
00:37
And even though I technically could have rested, I couldn't. Because every guest who shared their story, it felt so personal, so important, so urgent. I didn't want them to have to wait four months to be heard. So what did I do? I decided to run two episodes a week for months, which, yeah, doubled the work, doubled the editing, doubled the promotion, doubled everything.
01:08
I'm sure you can guess how that went. I hit a wall, a big one. I was exhausted, burnt out, done. And I realized maybe the most generous thing I could do was nothing. To pause, to let things breathe, to let myself breathe. And you know what? That wasn't lazy. That was care. For myself, for the work, for the people listening.
01:36
So today, if you feel like you need to stop pushing, stop producing, and just do nothing for a while, that's not weakness. That's wisdom. So if you're up for it, tell yourself, I give myself permission to do nothing, to rest, to let things breathe. That's your permission slip, friend. Tuck it in your pocket, and I'll see you next time.
