14 Quotes about Rest & Being Kind Enough to Give Yourself a Break

Healing takes time (and effort). Living takes time (and a lot of energy). A heart that's always listening and a mind that's always learning gets tired. And when you're tired, you need to rest — makes sense, right? Read these quotes about rest if it’s been a while since you’ve given yourself that break.

Being kind enough to give yourself a break is the wise thing to do.

Before you read these quotes about rest, know that you:

• Aren't responsible for fixing everything that’s broken.
• Don't have to please everyone.
• Don’t have to have everything figured out.
• Have permission to rest — as long as you’re the one who gives yourself permission.

Rest for you could look like moving slower as you clean the house or being mindful while you make a meal. It probably means being nicer to yourself. And sleep. Oh, good lord: sleep.

Like I write in my newest book, Sleep Rituals, “the quality of your life depends on making sleep a priority.”

You need to sleep to regenerate everything your body breaks down during the day. It's how your systems can repair and rebuild themselves. And it’s nearly impossible to be well -- mentally, emotionally, physically -- if you aren’t sleeping well.

If you’re not resting, you’re not healing.

Plus, if you keep giving away pieces of yourself until you feel like an empty shell, consider that people don't want you half alive. They want to see you at your best. They want to feel your light.

Taking care of yourself is one of the best ways to take care of others.

Healing is an evolving process of figuring out what works to hold you together -- all the pieces of you and your life.

Give yourself the chance to stay resilient (and calm!) in the face of stress with my new book, Sleep Rituals: 100 Practices for a Deep and Peaceful Sleep. Buy yourself a copy because rest fuels your whole life.

Now, quotes about rest. Because amazing is who you really are.

14 Quotes about Rest (Because You're Amazing When You Get It)

1. “Wisdom is knowing when to have rest, when to have activity, and how much of each to have.” — Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

2. “When you rest, you catch your breath and it holds you up, like water wings…” — Anne Lamott

3. “Your commitment to your wellness is part of the revolution.” — Danielle LaPorte

4. “Burnout is more of an issue of poor energy management and low clarity than of over-giving.” - Brendon Burchard

5. “There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither.” — Alan Cohen

6. “It’s precisely those who are busiest who most need to give themselves a break.” — Pico Iyer, The Art of Stillness

7. “If you get tired, learn to rest, not to quit.” — Bansky

8. “Sometimes you need to give yourself a break when you’ve had a lot of life change.” — Barbara Freethy

9. “Your calm mind is the ultimate weapon against your challenges.” — Bryant McGill

10. “There’s room for all of you, and for everything you experience—the grim and the glorious, the wounded, wounding, healing and healed.” — Hiro Boga

11. “You celebrate what works and take tender care of what doesn’t, with lotion, polish, and kindness.” — Anne Lamott

12. “Renewal is what happens when you realize that some of this stuff you’ve been carrying around doesn’t matter.” — Rob Bell

13. “We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves, otherwise we harden.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

14. “Real rest feels like every cell is thanking you for taking care of you. It’s calm, not full of checklists and chores. It’s simple: not multitasking; not fixing broken things.” — Jennifer Williamson

If you loved these quotes about rest, you'll love these 5 affirmations for rest, reflection, and renewal!

Tell me:

If you gave yourself a chance to rest, what would that look like and feel like for you?

Spread the good word and pass this post along to a friend. They probably need to rest too.

There's room for all of you and for all of your experiences. For your work and your play and definitely for your rest.

Here's to all of you,

Jen

P.S. Get yourself a copy of Sleep Rituals to start making nighttime your time.