I am going to say this straight out of my personal experience and not a word of this is untrue.

I had many personal days pending at my workplace. So, I took leave for 10 days. I thought I would write a bit, read a bit, eat healthy, exercise a little and take rest as much as I can. It had been an overwhelming few months as we were almost pulling in extra weekend shifts.

First two days was okay. I didn’t realize much. But by third day, I ate my consecutive home-cooked meal and I fell sick. It slowly started – a backache, a gas built-up and stomach cramps , barely could breathe and to fight it, I would eat medicines, food and rest more. And the results – more cramps, build up of phlegm and I fell sick.

This was supposed to be a vacation of recovery. I ended up falling sick. The days when I have barely eaten or rarely slept – I was functioning like a well-oiled machine. The scheduled life though tight and making me run around the city was actually healthy.

That was the day I decided that though I may keep whining about wanting rest and good food – I, in reality, don’t really need it. This break from grind was only in my head. The moment I rested “too much” my body started going into the lazy mode and my goodness – after I rejoined office, I got streamlined.

Things I had put off to do during the leaves were not done at all and I accomplished them while I was in the worktime.

So, yes, I think a lot of us just romanticize the notion of having a restful and ideal life – in reality, we are meant for the grind for mere survival.