You Know Rest Matters

By Tricia Scott.

We're midway through November, and if you’ve already heard Jingle Bells in a shop and felt the sudden, primal urge to throw a toddler-level tantrum in aisle five… you’re not alone.

Every year around this time, we hit the same wall. The world speeds up, the to-do lists double, and we start confusing movement with meaning. Everyone’s busy — but no one’s breathing. 

Leonardo da Vinci once said, “Men of lofty genius sometimes accomplish the most when they work least. ”Translation? Sometimes the best way to move forward is to step back.

Ok, so he clearly didn't have to endure back-to-back Zoom calls or bake from scratch for the school fair, lest endure the stare from the PTA (I love that scene in the new Bridget Jones movie when she pulls out shop-bought hummus and half-eaten snack-a-jacks from her bag and drops them on the table to the horrors of the other mothers 😂). Still, I think Leo was onto something.

Your best ideas, clearest strategies, and most grounded decisions don’t come from panic or pressure (I promise). They come from pause. From stillness. From that one night, you didn’t fill with a thousand tiny tasks because you were too busy doing something radical… like nothing.

So before you get swept up in the festive frenzy, I want you to stop and ask yourself: Am I actually making room for rest — or am I treating it like a luxury I’ll earn later?

This is the hill I am prepared to die on; rest isn’t a reward. It’s a requirement. It’s the secret sauce (or hummus) behind your clarity, your creativity, and your ability to lead yourself (and everyone else) without wanting to hide under a wrapping paper mountain until January.

So this week, if you need it, I’m giving you full permission to:

- Block out “thinking time” — no agenda, just breathing space (actually put this in your diary like you would an important meeting).

- Cancel one thing that drains you. (Yes, even that “quick coffee and pick your brains chat” that somehow eats half your day.)

- Walk, nap, stretch, stare into space — whatever lets your brain breathe.

Because the most powerful thing you can do for your business, your creativity, and your sanity…is step back before you burn out. 

Let’s not sprint to the end of the year. Let’s arrive there — calm, clear, impossibly refreshed and caffeinated (because I’m not a monster).

I believe in you (always).

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 Tricia Scott is a passionate startup business mentor and the Founder and Editor of The Female CEO - Create Evolve Overcome, a platform and digital magazine holding the space to showcase female entrepreneurs from all over the world. 

The Female CEO is gaining global recognition daily and Tricia is able to bring her own level of expertise as a start-up mentor and multi-company director to her very exclusive table along with her team of brilliant Guest Editors and Contributors. You'll usually find her with her MacBook in one hand and a coffee or a glass of something fizzy in the other. Reach out anytime!