Lately I have been counseling and coaching several women and there has been one resounding theme among them. They’re over stressed, over worked, physically exhausted, and emotionally distressed. My advice is that they stop and take a break.

Even I had to remind myself of this little fact over the holiday weekend. I have been working so hard on all of my current projects that I was not getting enough sleep. Unfortunately, I got sick and the one thing my body needed was some rest.

Why is it that we as women keep going and going until our bodies give out on us and make us stop? This can manifest differently for each of us. Some of us need eight hours of sleep every night or our bodies won’t function properly. Some of us push ourselves to the brink and we literally end up in the hospital because we are so worn out. Some of us are so emotionally drained from all the stress that we endure in our everyday lives that we have an emotional meltdown. When you are feeling like this you must stop and take a break.

You have to be OK with giving yourself permission to stop and rest. The world is not going to end just because you take time out to rest. I know what you might be thinking, If I take time off then I will lose the time I had to work. Then you begin to feel guilty for taking time off. All you think about is how much you could have gotten done while you were resting, but this kind of thinking is counterproductive. If you continue thinking this way you will never be ok with giving yourself a break.

The solution to not feeling guilty about taking time for yourself is to adopt the belief that you are worthy of being strong, healthy and whole, which are the results you will get from taking a time-out. You are worthy of sleep, you are worthy of a massage, you are worthy and you deserve it.

Imagine how much more energized and vibrant you would be if you took that much needed time off.. Imagine how good you would feel about yourself and about your life. So this article goes out to all my tired mothers, my emotionally drained wives, my exhausted workers and entrepreneurs stop and take a little time out for yourself. Your body, mind, family, and most of all – you – will thank you.

What are you going to do when you stop and take a break for yourself?