Slow Down, Before You Get Humbled!

05 Aug Slow Down, Before You Get Humbled!

To all the students, parents, hustlers, and the “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” crew—

Please. Sit down somewhere.

Seriously.

And before you get defensive, I already know what you’re about to say:

• “But Kay, I have bills to pay!”
  
• “I don’t have help—it’s just me.”
  
• “If I don’t work, nobody eats.”
  
• “I’m already behind on rent…”
  
• “I need to stack my money…”
  
   (Hmm…that’s a conversation for another day.)
  
  

Trust me – I hear you.

But don’t get it twisted. You think I don’t have bills too? You think I don’t understand?

I do.

Everything I’m talking about—I lived.

There will be seasons in life when you can throw on your Superman or Superwoman cape—juggling work and school, dropping the kids off, running your business, keeping the house together—somehow making it all work.

But let me warn you: there will also be a season where your body demands that you take that cape off… or it will humble you.

I know because I ignored every signal my body gave me:

• Irritability.
  
• “Sleeping” but never waking up fully rested. (Can I get a witness?)
  
• Catching a wild attitude with my friends because I was on an emotional rollercoaster. (God bless them—and forgive me again.)
  
• Running nonstop errands—even when some could’ve waited.
  
• Eating bad takeout because I was too busy and too tired to cook.
  
• Skipping naps, running on literal prayer… (I’ve hated naps all my life up until now.)
  
  

And taking a day off just to do… nothing? I couldn’t fathom it.

I was already calculating how much I could’ve made if I just stayed at work. I grew up watching my people wake up, work, run errands, repeat.

So I followed suit.

Again.

And again.

And again—until one day…

It all came crashing down.

I remember one night tossing and turning in my bed. Eventually, I reached for my phone around 4 AM. I had to get up for work in a few hours, but I just… couldn’t do it anymore.

My body was aching. My stomach was nauseous. My head was booming.

I was mentally done.

Oh, you didn’t know?

When you don’t rest, you can make yourself sick.

That sore throat? The random congestion? The stuffy nose?

Yeah…that might be your body begging you to slow down.

Here’s the truth:

• Your body will force you to reset.
  
• Your mind will shut you down with headaches, brain fog, and burnout.
  
• Your spirit will feel like it has nothing left to give.
  
• And God forbid…you crash out on the wrong person—the one who didn’t deserve that energy.
  
  

Yes, I know—you have bills to pay.

But there’s a word we all need to get comfortable with: balance.

Work. Life. BALANCE.

I told my therapist I felt guilty for resting. Guilty for sleeping an extra hour. I mean, I’m “Mrs. Get It Done,” right? Lying in bed made me feel lazy.

She reminded me: after all that nonstop moving, my body was just learning how to adjust. I needed to surrender. And she was right.

All those years of running… and now I’m in a season where rest is the assignment.

And the truth is, God had been whispering it to me all along.

But was I really listening?

When we ignore His nudges, we end up suffering the consequences—the headaches, the burnout, the breakdowns—when we could’ve just obeyed the first time.

It’s moments like this that remind me: God really is a parent to us hardheaded children.

(Yeah… I see it too.)

As a woman of color, let me say this plainly: this is a conversation we must have—with men and women alike. We’ve been conditioned to do it all, to grind and to toil, until rest feels almost unnatural. (It shouldn’t.)

Maybe a few of us have finally realized that life isn’t meant to be lived working our fingers to the bone. But for many of us, unlearning the routines we grew up seeing—the endless hustle, the nonstop motion—takes time. And that’s okay.

But hear me: this conversation cannot be ignored.

Our health, our peace, and our future depend on it.

Most of us have never learned true self-care.

We don’t know how to regulate our nervous systems, how to breathe, or how to balance our schedules without burning out.

A two-week vacation once or twice a year?

Not even close to enough.

We need more.

And we have to be okay with needing more.

So I say all this to say…

Take a rest.

Give yourself permission to pause.

• Take that nap. Take multiple naps this week.
  
• Turn your phone on Do Not Disturb.
  
• Close the laptop.
  
• Go sit in your car, shut your eyes, and decompress.
  
• Adjust your work schedule for your health.
  
  

The world will not fall apart because you sat down for a moment to breathe.

(If it does, rebuild it better. But this is your time.)

You were not created to live in constant motion.

You are not a machine—you are a beautifully made human being who needs rest.

Your body has limits.

And if you keep pushing past them, life has a way of humbling you…in the most inconvenient ways.