So many people are exhausted right now.

Maybe it’s the constant churn of the news cycle. Maybe it’s the unease in the markets. Maybe it’s the angry voices and the sense of cultural uncertainty. Maybe it’s all of it, piled on top of the already heavy load of work and life.

The truth is, we’re marinating in stress. And it’s wearing us down.

And so many of us are tired.

There’s a remedy: Rest.

It sounds simple. But it’s the last thing most of us do. We push; we grind; we wear our exhaustion like a badge of honor. We tell ourselves we’ll rest when the deal closes; when the project ends; when the kids are grown; when things “settle down.”

But things rarely settle down.

In sports and fitness, rest is not optional. It’s essential. Athletes build it into their training. Because recovery is when the growth happens.

As a high-altitude mountaineer, I know this in my bones. Every two or three days on a big climb, we schedule rest days. Not as a luxury. As survival. As strength. Our bodies need to acclimatize. To recover. To prepare for what’s next. Without rest, we fail.

Somehow in business and in life, we forget this. We ignore the signals; we keep pushing forward; we believe that we can outwork our fatigue. But we can’t.

The truth is: rest is not weakness. Rest is strategy; rest is wisdom; rest is fuel for the long game.

So if you’re exhausted—mentally, physically, emotionally—it’s not a sign to push harder. It’s a sign to stop.

To step back; to breathe; to sleep; to be with those you love.

When you’re tired, rest.