Surrender: Taking Time Off and Recovery

Like most of us, I am getting back into the swing of things after the holidays. I took some precious time off, including from posting on social media, and guess what? The world didn’t end when I stopped.

I used to believe that if I stopped juggling all the balls, everything would fall apart. But as this extended vacation (2 weeks!) reminded me, everything continued to function as it should. I realized during 2025 that my various positions and my ensuing schedule were taking a toll on my health. So I took important steps to get healthier, one of which was to give myself the time that I needed to rest and recover.

During those two weeks, I spent time in my own house, a rarity for me. With my schedule, I’m used to other people, rather than me, caring for my house. But having that much time off allowed me to nest and enjoy living in my home.

So I did some tasks that other people might take for granted, like organizing my pantry, or rearranging my piano room, or other things to make my house cozier. Having that time to spend at home felt like a luxury.

I was listening to a podcast late last year about a woman who had been an entrepreneur. She started a company and it was very successful for a time, but then it ended, as these things do. She was devastated at first by the loss and tried to figure out who she was, how she would continue to have meaning in her life, if she wasn’t running this business.

What she realized was that she needed to surrender to the process of what had happened. She could figure out who she was without trying to judge what had happened.

I have decided, I want that peace for myself in 2026.

I resolve: to stop pressuring myself with self-imposed deadlines, and be in the moment instead.

I resolve: to accept that I can’t predict or control everything, and that’s ok. It may work out, or it may not, but that is the fun part of the journey.

I resolve: to allow myself to rest without judging or pressuring myself, and to be ok with doing nothing.

I resolve: to surrender to my own need to rest and recuperate, and surrender to the process. There is only so much I can control, and then I will move back and let what happens happen by itself. Everything else will fall into place as long as I am authentic with myself and honor my own needs.