1, #14 - It's okay to rest.
1, #14 - It's okay to rest.
On possibility junkies (like me) – Estimated Read Time: 45 seconds.
This week, I reread my favorite article of all time. It was written 15 years ago by a UVa professor, incisively portraying the students in his classes. When I first read it, it was both eery and comforting to be described so vividly by a stranger. Now, a decade and a half later, it still rings true. I wonder if it will for you, too: "They live to multiply possibilities. They’re enemies of closure. For as much as they want to do and actually manage to do, they always strive to keep their options open, never to shut possibilities down before they have to.” If you recognize yourself in this verbal mirror, then the professor’s conclusion may encourage you, too. When a student comes to him, struggling with an impossible workload, he tells her directly: ‘It’s too much. You’re taking on too many things, but it’s okay to stop. It’s okay to be tired, okay to ease up. Okay to rest.’ If you’re feeling pressure to expand your boundaries, I hope you’ll consider the peace of embracing them.
Insight inspired by: Mark Edmunson and his article, Dwelling in Possibilities. It’s worth making a free account with the Chronicle of Higher Education, just to read it.