You Don't Need More Rest, You Need a Reset
The Weary Heart #14
There are moments in life when you don’t just feel tired.
You feel finished.
You’ve run the course. You’ve drained every cell of your being.
And deep down, you know it. You can’t keep going like this.
That was me, about a year ago.
Since 2009, I had been running between 30 to 40 events every single year. Seminars. Retreats. Talks. Workshops. From large-scale mega halls to intimate meeting rooms. I was always preparing for something, planning something, building something. And for many years, I loved it. It gave me purpose. It gave people a space to feel seen, heard, and spiritually reconnected.
But by the time last year came around, I realised something I never wanted to admit.
I was done.
Not in the dramatic, “I quit forever” kind of way.
But in the “I can’t give what I don’t have anymore” kind of way.
Every new event started to feel like an obligation, not a calling.
My creative well was dry.
My emotional tank was empty.
My heart, the very thing I used to pour into every event, was fatigued beyond repair.
So I stopped.
I took a full year off from doing events. That might not sound like a big deal, but for someone whose calendar was always filled with stage lights, countdowns, speakers, WhatsApp groups, and hundreds of minute details, it was like cutting off a limb.
But it had to be done.
Because I wasn’t just tired.
I was misaligned.
But yesterday, I returned.
My first event after that long break.
And guess what?
It was a full house.
But more importantly, it felt good to be back.
Not good because of the ticket sales.
Not good because of the applause or the messages that followed.
But good because something inside me had come back to life.
As I went through the familiar rhythm of preparing the slides, confirming the crew, adjusting the seating plan, checking the guest list, managing last-minute surprises, something clicked. I wasn’t just going through the motions. I was flowing again. I was in my element.
And I realised then.
It wasn’t the rest that made me stronger.
It was the RESET.
We need to start telling ourselves the truth.
Most of us don’t rest.
We simply escape.
We run from responsibility. We unplug, only to come back feeling worse. We binge shows. We travel aimlessly. We scroll endlessly. We sleep for 12 hours and still feel tired.
And then we say,
“I need another break.”
And then another.
And another.
Until all our breaks blend into burnout.
So what went wrong?
The intention behind our rest. That’s what.
If you rest without intention, you return without clarity.
If you pause without reflection, you resume without direction.
If you retreat without healing, you re-enter without strength.
This is why you still feel tired.
This is why everything feels heavy again the moment you step back into work, your marriage, your responsibilities.
Because you never reset.
You only paused the pain.
You didn’t address it.
Even the act of returning from a break requires inner work.
It requires intention.
It requires a renewed fight, not on the outside, but within.
So ask yourself: What exactly are you tired of?
Is it your work?
Is it the constant noise?
Is it the pressure to be available 24/7?
Is it the expectations others place on you?
Is it the version of yourself you’ve been forcing for too long?
Be specific.
List them down.
Really.
Right now.
Pause your reading and write them out.
Then ask yourself this.
Which of these can I realistically take a break from?
Not forever. Just long enough to breathe, to heal, to reset.
Here’s what resetting looks like:
You slow down with purpose
You detach to reflect
You take a break to realign your “why”
You stay quiet so your heart can speak louder
You ask hard questions and give honest answers
Resetting isn’t about indulgence.
It’s not a spa treatment or a weekend getaway.
It’s hard. It’s confronting.
But it is life-giving.
Because when you reset properly, you come back different.
Not just refreshed. But refocused.
Not just lighter. But clearer.
Not just rested. But reawakened.
I couldn’t have done one more event last year, no matter how hard I pushed.
My body would have shown up.
My smile might have looked the same.
But my spirit would’ve been missing.
And that’s the truth for many of us.
We are functioning with full calendars and empty hearts.
And sometimes the only cure isn’t another productivity hack.
But a sacred intentional pause.
The Qur’an reminds us:
“Indeed, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.”
Surah Ar-Ra’d, verse 28
True rest doesn’t just come from stopping the noise.
It comes from reconnecting with the source.
Your soul is not tired of doing.
It is tired of doing without meaning.
So when you rest, don’t just check out. Check in.
With your soul. With your purpose. With your Rabb.
So here’s what I suggest today:
Write down everything you’re tired of
Be raw. Don’t sugarcoat it. Let it bleed onto the page.
Pick one thing you can step away from, even if just temporarily
Protect your energy. Choose wisely. The world won’t fall apart.
Set your intention
Say: “I am stepping away not because I’m lazy, but because I want to return better.”
Define what your reset looks like
Is it prayer? Reading? Quiet reflection? Walking without your phone? Sleeping without guilt?
Decide when and how you will return, and who you will be when you do
Without this, your reset becomes just another escape.
Rest should never be meaningless. A reset, on the other hand, is sacred. It’s a form of worship. A form of self-respect. A strategy.
I took a year off.
Not to disappear.
But to return, with more clarity, more energy, and more purpose than ever before.
So no,
You don’t need more rest.
You need a reset.
And I hope you’ll give yourself that gift.
Before your soul asks for it in more painful ways.
Until next week,
Mizi