Why do I feel guilty when I rest? Have you ever noticed this? The moment you slow down, your mind speeds up. You sit on the couch, lie in bed, or take a break and instead of feeling restored, you feel behind. Like you should be doing something else. Like we’ve been taught that rest is only for the weak… That guilt is common, especially for men who carry responsibility. Providers. Leaders. Builders. Rest starts to feel like weakness and laziness, instead of wisdom. But, there is the hope. Rest is not quitting. It is alignment with Gods plan. Scripture addresses this directly. “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for He grants sleep to those He loves.” Psalm 127:2 NIV That word vain matters. It does not mean work is bad. It means striving without trust is. God designed the body and mind with rhythms. When rest is ignored, clarity drops, patience thins, and presence disappears, even if effort and drive stays high. Here is the reframe we need. Rest is not the opposite of discipline. It is part of it. Real life shows this clearly. Training hard but never sleeping well leads to injury and burnout. Working late every night dulls decision making. Being physically present with family but mentally exhausted creates distance. Even Jesus withdrew to quiet places to rest and pray. Not because He was tired of people, but because rest sharpened His obedience. So, carry this question into today: Am I resting with trust, or am I running from it? Here is today’s active stillness challenge. Take five quiet minutes. No phone. No noise. Sit comfortably or even lie down. Breathe slowly. Ask God one honest question. “Where are You inviting me to rest?” Do not resist the answer. After that stillness, move with intention. Choose one. Go to bed thirty minutes earlier tonight. Or take a ten minute walk with no destination or distractions. Leave the phone behind. Or sit quietly after dinner, no screen, letting your nervous system settle and just breathe.

Is it just me? Or does one workout never feel like enough? Have you ever noticed this? You train hard in the morning, maybe even for a full hour, feel accomplished, and then spend the rest of the day sitting, locked in at work. And by evening, your back is tight, your hips feel locked up, and your energy is completely gone. You exercised, but your body still feels unused, weak even. That is not a failure of discipline, but it is a misunderstanding of how the body works. There is hope. Your body thrives on frequent movement, not isolated effort. One hour of exercise once a day IS better than nothing, but what if I told you that constant movement all day long is actually the key. 🔐 It’s time to lock in. Scripture actually reminds us how we are meant to care for our bodies in an interesting way. “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” 1 Corinthians 6:19 NIV A temple is not maintained in one intense cleaning session and ignored the rest of the day. It is cared for continually. The body works the same way. When movement is spaced throughout the day, joints stay lubricated, muscles stay active, blood sugar stays stable, and the nervous system stays regulated. Interesting take right? Exercise is training for capacity. Movement is maintenance, balance, and health. Think about real life and what you can do differently. Walking while taking a phone call instead of sitting. Squatting down to pick something up instead of bending at the waist. Getting on the floor to play with your kids and standing back up without using your hands. Taking the stairs over the elevator. Parking in the back of the parking lot and getting those extra steps in. Standing and stretching while coffee brews. These moments add up. This is why someone who walks, moves, and changes positions all day often feels better and has more natural energy than someone who only trains once and then sits for eight straight hours. The body reads movement as a sign of life. If it’s not moving, it’s dying.

A clear, grounded look at income, work, and fulfillment. It’s time to get deep. Most people don’t stay in jobs because they love them. They stay because it feels safe. That was me. I had a long, respected, 20 years career. VP role. Top one percent income. All the perks. From the outside, it looked like complete success. From the inside, it felt like I was trading hours of my life for a version of myself that no longer gave me life… Here’s the important part. I didn’t leave because I was miserable. I left because I was aware. This conversation is not about just chasing your passion or burning the boats prematurely. It’s about learning to recognize when staying is costing you more than leaving. We start with income. Because if you get this part wrong, nothing else matters. STEP ONE. ☝️ Tell the truth about what you actually make per hour. This framework came from listening to Alex Hormozi, and it permanently changed how I viewed my career, my hours worked, and my effective income. Most people lie to themselves about income because they only count salary vs hours clocked in. They don’t count the life cost. Write down: • Your total income, including all bonuses and commissions Now write down: • Hours worked each week • Commute time • Travel away from family • After-hours calls and texts • Mental load you carry home • Dinners missed • Weekends and gatherings half present • Stress that follows you into bed Add all of it up. Every single hour. This BLEW MY MIND 🤯 I was always on call, always expected to answer a text (no matter what time at night), always required to travel for meetings, on top of the 60 hours a week the job required. Now divide your total income by every hour the job actually takes from your life. Your freedom. Your choices. That number is your real hourly wage. (Much lower than I would have ever thought.) For a lot of high earners, this is the first uncomfortable moment. The paycheck is big, but the hours are bigger. And the total effective $ per hour is less than you thought. 💭