I throw my phones across the room. Not gently. Not on silent. I literally throw them.
That’s what I told Jamie Bennion and Brandon Sherwood on Glad You Asked, and they looked at me like I’d just revealed the secret to life. Maybe I did.
We started with Bluetooth toasters and ended up in my closet – metaphorically speaking. No script. No pretense. Just real talk about why we’re all so tired and what we’re gonna do about it.
The Culture of Exhaustion Nobody Wants to Name
When we got into my journey, I went straight to the root. We’ve been raised in a culture that worships being tired. We wear “busy” like it’s a badge of honor. Like exhaustion proves our worth.
Fighting for What’s Already Ours
“We were taught that if we’re not hustling, we’re not worthy. Like stillness is laziness. If you just sit down, like what you doing? We’re constantly trying to earn the right to even breathe. We’re fighting for things that should naturally be ours.”
This hits different for women. We’re conditioned to care for everyone else first. Push through no matter the cost. Call it strength. But when does strength become self-destruction?
I learned the hard way.
The Crash That Changed Everything
A few years ago, running multiple ventures, I crashed. Not stumbled. Not slowed down. Crashed completely.
Mind and body shut down. That’s when I learned rest isn’t a luxury or reward. “Rest is what naturally is ours. It’s a reset button that allows us to show up for the things that matter.”
Sometimes rest is just saying no. No November, right? No, I can’t do it. I cannot do it. Learning what that means saved my life and my business.
Peace Doesn’t Need Protection – It Needs Ownership
This might be the most important thing we discussed. The question came up about why peace needs to be so personalized, and my answer changed the whole conversation.
Stop Defending What’s Already Yours
“Peace is personal. You have to decide – there’s a choice in all of this – what you’re gonna let bother you. Can I change it? No. So am I gonna wreck my peace behind it? No.”
We say “protect your peace” like it’s out there to be trampled on. But why is it even out there? I’m not protecting my peace, baby. It’s mine. You can’t have it.
That’s disruptive thinking. Not going with the status quo. Nobody can take what you won’t give.
The Five-Minute CEO Reset
My approach is embarrassingly simple. Five minutes. Closet. Phones thrown across the room.
No apps. No guided anything. Just me, sitting still, thinking about what I’m grateful for. Sometimes listening to myself. And if yourself talks back, well, I don’t know what to tell you.
Some of my greatest ideas come from that closet. Including the email I sent Jamie that started this whole collaboration with Gladly Network. He laughed when I told him that. But it’s true – stillness creates strategy.
Redefining Self-Care (Because Spa Days Give Me Anxiety)
Here’s where the conversation got real interesting. We demolished the Instagram version of self-care.
Spa days? They stress me out. I’m watching you cut my cuticles. The water’s too hot. You’re massaging too hard. I’m scared you might touch an area you’re not supposed to. I’m not relaxed. I’m on edge until it’s done.
They had their own versions. One finds peace driving into forests… Another has a wife who has to run or her mind eats itself. And one of them hides in the shower because nobody can reach him there.
Your rest might be movement. Might be stillness. Might be mindless phone games for five minutes. What matters is you claim it without apology.
The Analogy That Stopped Us Cold
Here’s when everything clicked. We all know that financial advice – pay yourself first. Take your percentage, put it into savings before anything else, right?
But we don’t apply that to time. And time is more valuable than money.
Think about it. We book our weeks full of obligations to others, then wonder why we’re scraping for leftovers at 1:30 AM when everyone’s finally asleep. That’s backwards.
I block off CEO days on my calendar. That’s my day. Don’t come in here. Don’t bother me. I have a fridge in my room. I don’t have to leave. That’s not selfish – that’s sustainability. That’s how I lead, how I create, how I stay whole.
Before you book another meeting, another favor, another “quick call” – book yourself first. Not the scraps. Not the maybes. First.
The Nap Debate That Changed Everything
The conversation took a hilarious turn when I mentioned taking naps. There was this whole debate about whether sleeping after 5 or 6 PM counts as a nap or just going to bed early.
No. It is a nap.
Your body doesn’t care about your rules. Your body cares about recovery.
One of them confessed to taking “accidental” naps after 5 PM – which, in my world, means he was meant to take that nap. Your body will shut you down if you don’t slow down. Mine has done it. More than once.
We’ve made rest so complicated with all these rules. A 5 PM nap is still a nap. A 7 PM nap is still a nap. Your exhaustion doesn’t check the clock before it knocks you out.
Rest doesn’t need to be earned. It needs to be honored.
Thank You for the Real Conversation
Big thanks to Jamie and Brandon for creating a space where we could go from Bluetooth toasters to burnout to the revolutionary act of a 5 PM nap. A space where throwing your phone across the room makes perfect sense. Where spa-day anxiety is not only understood – it’s validated.
Being the first Gladly Voice means showing up with truth, humor, and a little chaos. And they welcomed every bit of it.
Experience the Full Conversation
This article captures moments, but the full episode? That’s where the real medicine and the real laughter live. From Jamie’s confession that “17,000 steps a day is not a brag,” to Brandon admitting he can basically drive through Kansas in his sleep on a 22-hour road trip.
We talked about everything – naps and grace, Costco chocolate almonds, the smell of rain, the anxiety of hot pedicure water, and why rest isn’t indulgence, it’s strategy for leaders who want to think clearly, create with intention, and stop burning themselves to ash.
If you’re ready to reclaim your peace – not protect it, not negotiate it, own it – this conversation is your starting point.
