Unlearn Grind Culture 101: Using Tricia Hersey's Guiding Questions as a Tool for Rest

Do you struggle to prioritize rest and self-care in your life? You're not alone. In her book Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto, Tricia Hersey argues that we have been socialized to believe false notions about rest. From the time we are born, we are taught to value productivity and hard work above all else, often at the expense of our health and well-being.

To break free from the toxic grip of grind culture, Hersey, also known in the community as the Nap Bishop, encourages us to ask ourselves some critical questions. What does rest really mean? How do we recognize exhaustion in ourselves and others? What can we do to prioritize our own needs and well-being in a system that prioritizes profit over people?

In this episode, Niecie and Bethany explore their lived experiences and learnings with rest by digging into these questions. We invite you to take a moment to pause (feel free to literally pause the podcast) and reflect on these questions. Through journaling or meditation, we encourage you to explore your relationship with rest and consider what changes you can make in your life to prioritize your own self-care. Join us as we delve into this important topic and explore the ways in which we can resist the violence of grind culture by re-imagining what rest can be.

Key topics:

• This entire episode centers on a pillow-talk convo between Bethany and Niecie as they ponder barriers to rest and dream up solutions for creating space to prioritize rest in their everyday lives. 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey of The Nap Ministry, p. 55-56. Keep up with all the juicy insights and life-changing practices about rest on her Instagram page, @thenapministry. Purchase Hersey's NYT Bestseller here.
• Several other questions from Hersey’s book that we did not explore during this episode but  invite you to consider, journal, or meditate on:
  • If I have been consistently exposed and brainwashed by the violence of grind culture since birth, do I really know what rest feels like?
  • Am I navigating the world from a constant state of exhaustion?
  • Who was I before the terror of the toxic systems?
  • Who do I want to be?
  • What have you been told about your worth and existence?
  • How do you make space to transcend the confines of a system that prays to the call of ‘profit over people’?
• Jenna Wortham, Co-Author of Black Futures - @jennydeluxe 
• Erica Totten, Spiritual Life Coach - @toliveunchained

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Rest with us on Social Media:
Keep up with the pod - Instagram @blackradicalrestoration
Keep up with Niecie - Instagram @nieciejonesphd
Keep up with Bethany - Instagram @coachbethanycherry