Brilliant, Not Broken: Reclaiming Rest by Doing Nothing is STILL Doing Something

When was the last time you rested without guilt? Not just slept. Not just took a break while multitasking, but truly, deeply, intentionally RESTED?

For many of us, especially Black women, queer folks, neurodivergent creatives, and anyone raised in grind culture, rest feels like a reward we have to earn. Something we only deserve after we’ve poured ourselves out, crossed everything off the list, and proven our worth. But this week on Brilliant, Not Broken, I’m flipping that narrative. Rest is not a luxury. Rest is a right. And doing nothing? That is STILL doing something.

Navigator, please hear me: You do not have to be on the edge of collapse to deserve to stop. Your body should not have to scream to be heard. Rest isn’t just about recharging your battery and rewriting your relationship to your worth. It’s about rejecting a system that says your value lies in what you produce. It’s about reclaiming your time, your energy, your breath. Rest is also resistance to capitalism, to white supremacy, to patriarchy, and to the narratives that say we are machines. And if that sounds a bit radical, it is! In a world that expects us to perform to exhaustion, rest becomes a revolutionary act of self-preservation.

Reflection

• Where have I believed the lie that rest has to be earned?

• What does rest really look like for me? Not just sleep, but emotional and spiritual rest?

• How can I reclaim rest as part of my healing, not as something I “fit in,” but something I prioritize?

Until next time, rest well, rest often, and rest without apology.

xo,
Sue

Listen to the episode: Brilliant, Not Broken – Episode 4
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