4 Psychological Tricks To Avoid Feeling Guilty About Taking Breaks

Do not let guilt ruin your well-deserved break

John Davison Rockefeller, an American Industrialist, was an avid advocate for taking breaks. To hold the title of America’s most successful and pioneer industrialist is no easy feat. That only goes to show the importance of mandating breaks in the life of someone of his socio-economic status. Now tell me, if a business magnate like John D. Rockefeller prioritizes breaktime after his mealtime, what gives you the right to feel guilty about yourself?

Leveraging from the above paragraph, I begin to share with you the first psychological trick to overcome guilt about taking breaks:

#1: Compare Yourself With the Greats

Imagine for a moment, you are minding your own business, strolling down the streets, and at the corner of your eye, you spot a familiar sight. A sight you are only familiar with seeing on your 40-inch television, on your Instagram, or even on your “for you page” on TikTok.

You see your idol getting his meal at Macdonald's — and guess what, it’s a “Big Mac” meal.

Unlike you, your idol is earning millions every year and is living in a grand 1000-meter-square mansion.

Yet, a simple “Big Mac” meal, which costs $5.99, has sufficed as his lunch.

What are your thoughts? How do you feel at this moment? How has your mindset towards Macdonald's changed?

Previously, you would probably feel that Macdonald’s are fast food restaurants for the common working class. However, after seeing your idol consuming there, you would have thought otherwise. Your perception of Macdonald’s changes. Most likely, you would have perceived Macdonald’s as a restaurant appropriate for all.

Oftentimes, we lack perspective in our lives. We judge based on what we see and experience with our five senses. The lack of in our lives creates a void or dilution in our judgment which can drastically change our perception of the world around us.

This is where life stories or autobiographies of people come into play. More significantly, famous and successful people.

Whenever we hear Elon Musk’s heartwrenching yet inspiring stories on his career, we aspire to be like him. Hence, whatever habits or behaviors he exhibits, we tend to mimic them in our lives.

Whenever I feel guilty about taking breaks, I would search for Gary Vee’s clips and advice on taking breaks. His conviction in the subject of taking breaks made me feel indescribably better about taking a breather in my life. And I will strongly advise the same for you.

#2: Look Back at Your Achievements

Gratitude is the key to guilt-less breaks and holidays. To go on that one-month vacation to Bali without any stress or concern for work demands a great deal of being aware and proud of what you have accomplished.

You can simply start with writing out any accomplishments you have made in your work or any progress you have made towards your goals onto a piece of paper. Watching the list of achievements pile up is one of the most satisfying and important steps in practicing gratitude.

Hustling hard towards your goals is one thing. But enforcing a check and balance on your progress is another crucial factor. You do not want to achieve your goals at the cost of burning out and losing the passion you had at the start of your journey — that’s counter-productive.

There are several merits to monitoring your triumphs:

• Track your progress and able to ensure that you are on the right trajectory
• Sense of pride in yourself
• Able to regroup and make adjustments, should there be any problems along your way
• Prevent burnouts

During my officership in conscription, my course instructors would always impose a session for self-reflection after every leadership activity.

We will always look back on what went wrong and how we could have done better the next time.

By doing so, we gain a deeper understanding of one’s strengths and weaknesses. Hence, increasing our capacity to improve — and capacity to be less critical and proud of ourselves.

This is an introspective mechanism I encourage most to incorporate in their lives — to practice gratitude for yourselves.

#3: “I deserve it”

I know what you are wondering. What if you just do not have any progress or accomplishments that you can proudly proclaim of?

I’ll be the first to admit it. There are definitely times where I have not done anything productive during the day but felt tired regardless.

There will be moments like these.

And in times like these, I advise you to chant “I deserve it” x 1000 or however much it takes to get yourself to be at peace with the idea of taking a break.

Bottom line: You need to be as thick-skinned as possible.

To form an ego as impenetrable as Captain America’s shield — such that no amount of undone work can inject guilt into you.

To form a “heck-care” attitude towards life.

To send a middle finger to whoever wants you to get back to work and stop resting.

We all have our “off” days, when our energies are at rock bottom, and it is completely normal. We are not robots, which are software-engineered to run 24/7.

It’s okay to take an unjustified break every now and then. Normalize such gaps because, who knows, they could just be the fuel you need before a breakthrough.

#4: Recognize Your Personal Rhythm in Life

In the story of the tortoise and the hare, the moral of the story, for most, is to not be overconfident of one’s capability, or else you might just get eliminated.

However, I find this analogy strikingly significant in one’s path to self-discovery.

Let’s break down the two main characters involved in the fable.

Firstly, you have the arrogant yet fast hare. Secondly, you have the consistent yet slow tortoise.

You cannot expect the tortoise to travel as fast as the hare, and vice versa.

So what is the significance of the allegory to you taking breaks?

In simple words, it is all about recognizing your pace in life. It boils down to self-awareness.

Are you a fast or slow learner? Are you able to multi-task? Are you able to solve problems quickly? Are you more of an individualist or a team player?

Understand yourself first before allocating your next break, since only after understanding yourself can you genuinely feel guilt-free about any breaks you take. Do not allow yourself to rest unless necessary as it will hinder your momentum in whatever you’re doing.

All in all, remember these 4 tricks to master your control over guilt when taking your leisure. The following is as shown:

1. Compare yourself with the greats
2. Look back at your achievements
3. “I deserve it”
4. Recognize your personal rhythm in life

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