Center of Life should be REST
I believe that taking proper rest requires
both determination and knowledge.
It's the determination to let go of excessive ambition for achievement and the knowledge of how our bodies function. In the past, I thought it was important to rest as much as we work, but now my perspective has changed. We should schedule our rest first and work in between. It's important to note that 'rest' here doesn't simply mean time not spent working, but rather time when our body and mind are completely "at rest." The problem with workaholics isn't that they work too much; it's that they lack genuine rest.
After my workation in Malaga,
the quality of my rest has significantly improved.
First and foremost, I try not to work on weekends whenever possible. This includes not only work related to my livelihood but also self-improvement or administrative tasks. I treat weekends as if they don't exist. If I plan a workshop program, for instance, from No. 5-4 on Friday afternoon, I finish the remaining No. 5-5 on Monday. On weekends, I don't even turn on my computer and only use my smartphone. Anything that requires mental or physical effort, aside from work, is off-limits on weekends. Even with reading, I don't touch books that I need to read for work or study. On the other hand, while I don't study English on weekends because it's something I do out of necessity, I do study Spanish, which I learn for fun, in concentrated sessions on weekends.
Instead, I rest completely on weekends.
I wake up slowly, in sync with the sunrise. If the weather is nice, I take a walk with Étté, my dog, and read a book on the terrace. Some days, I immerse myself in miniature work all day long. On these days, my mom even brings meals to my room separately. Spending a day immersed in something without anyone's interference or concern is healing in itself. While passive time spent watching Netflix or reels turns me into a zombie, active pursuits for my own satisfaction seem to fill me with pure energy.
Warm sunlight, clear skies, loving family, and a quiet space - the epitome of weekend rest.On weekdays, I rest through sleep.
For me, genuine rest is "sleep." I can still pull all-nighters without much difficulty, and if necessary, I can survive a week on just 3-4 hours of sleep per day. But I know how toxic poor-quality sleep of less than 7 hours is to the body and mind. The difference is immediately apparent after experiencing the condition after getting more than 8 hours of deep sleep. When I get enough sleep, my body feels light, and I'm in a good mood. Naturally, my morning greetings become brighter, and my personality improves. These days, because the weather isn't great in Korea, I wake up around 8 am, so I go to bed before midnight. Our neighborhood has almost no noise, so thick curtains alone are enough for a good night's sleep. Even when my condition is poor due to illness or jet lag, a week like this significantly restores my condition.
Sometimes, out of curiosity about how quickly I fall asleep, I listen to a 10-minute YouTube video as I fall asleep. When I play it again next morning, the part I don't remember is the point at which I fell asleep, which these days is around 3 minutes.
Enough sleep and Proper rest on weekends
significantly improve our quality of life.
Resting through sleep every day and complete rest on weekends. When I don't skip rest in my schedule, my body feels lighter. My physical endurance itself improves, allowing me to handle high-intensity work without getting tired. The brain is ultimately a part of the body, so my reasoning, integration, memory, and association skills improve. I experience fewer instances of losing focus or feeling frustrated while working. In my case, when I rest well, my insight increases. I often find clues to problems I've been pondering on mornings after a good night's sleep, and there have been times when a completely different perspective emerges, allowing me to solve work in an unbelievable way. (At these times, it feels as if there's another person living inside me.)
In conclusion, the center of life
should be "rest" not "work"
In conclusion, the center of life should be "rest," not "work." While this proposition itself is difficult to compare between individuals, and the terms used have not been operationally defined, making it sound like a grandiose statement, I still want to emphasize it despite its imperfection. The center of our lives should be rest, not work. Ironically, this is for the purpose of working longer and better, and fundamentally for living happily.
After all, when you think about it
there's nothing more important in life than that.
