Two different days. Two completely different choices. Both felt impossibly hard.

Monday: I closed my laptop early, stopped working, and played with my kids instead.

Wednesday: I walked 30 minutes in the snow to go to the gym when I desperately wanted to stay in my warm house.

Both required discipline. Both required courage. But for years I only thought ONE of those counted.

Because we're really good at pushing through. But stopping? That feels like failure.

The skill isn't always choosing to push or always choosing to rest. It's knowing which one you actually need in that moment. That's where wisdom starts.

And here's the truth: how we treat ourselves is what we're teaching our children. If we want to raise kids who know when to push and when to rest, we have to model that balance first.