Kind of a Wreck, Kind of a Leader

This post is inspired by a woman I deeply admire.

She is a leader, a brilliant innovator, a creative thinker, and one of the most capable people I know. She is also a single mom of two amazing daughters and her own support system in every sense of the word. We worked together years ago, but we still meet regularly to bounce ideas off each other and stay connected.

The other day, she told me that she had taken a rare day off work. She had a long list of things she planned to accomplish. Errands, chores, all the tasks that can often fill a day off.

Instead?

She ended up resting. Laying around. Doing… nothing.

And when she told me the story, she said she felt guilty.

That word stuck with me.

This is a woman who is always doing. Always leading. Always pushing forward with strength and creativity and intention. She shows up for her daughters, for her team, for herself. And still, on the one day she let herself just be, she felt like she had done something wrong.

I think a lot of us can relate.

We are so conditioned to equate value with output. Rest becomes something we “earn” only after we’ve emptied ourselves. And even when we get a moment to breathe, that voice in our head whispers that we should be doing more.

But what if rest isn’t the reward for a job well done? What if rest is the work?

Especially for leaders. Especially for the people who carry so much.

Doing nothing isn’t lazy. It’s not a failure. It’s not selfish.

Sometimes doing nothing is everything we need.

Rest recalibrates us. It brings us back to ourselves. It softens the edges we use to protect and perform. It reminds us that we are not machines.

So, to the woman who inspired this post, and to anyone else who has felt guilty for doing nothing:

Your rest matters. Your stillness is valid. You don’t have to prove your worth through exhaustion.

You already are enough. Even when you are doing nothing at all.