🌴Weekend Wisdom: You’re Tired from Carrying a Broken System🌴

If you’ve felt exhausted lately—but haven’t run a marathon, launched a side hustle, or moved furniture—let’s be clear:

You’re not lazy. You’re tired from constantly navigating a broken system.

Toxic workplaces drain more than time—they drain your identity, energy, and nervous system. And if you’re doing well in a toxic workplace, chances are you’re over-functioning just to survive.

So this weekend? You rest. Without guilt. Without apology.

Why the Fatigue Feels Endless

🚩 Emotional labor without acknowledgment
🚩 Constantly managing your tone, reactions, and reputation
🚩 Performing professionalism in the face of dysfunction
🚩 No time to actually recharge during the week

This isn’t normal tired—it’s system-induced depletion. And the fix isn’t just “self-care.” It’s radical permission to stop overworking and start recovering.

Rest Isn’t Laziness. It’s Resistance.

When you rest, you’re saying:

“I will not let dysfunction dictate my energy.”

Rest becomes an act of defiance—a way to reclaim control from systems that benefit when you're too tired to question them.

4 SHIELD-Aligned Weekend Reset Rituals

🛡️ S – Stay Calm and Composed:
Silence the noise. 20 minutes of no screens, no talking, no planning. Just exist.
📝 Prompt: “What emotions have I been suppressing this week?”

🛡️ H – Hold Boundaries Firmly:
Say “no” to things that aren't urgent. Your peace is not negotiable.
💬 Script: “This weekend is for rest—let’s reconnect Monday.”

🛡️ E – Echo and Document:
Reflect in writing what went well and what you need next week.
📝 Prompt: “One thing I handled well this week was…”

🛡️ D – Disengage and Redirect:
Step away from toxic thoughts, group chats, or Slack. Detox your inputs.
📵 Mini challenge: Turn off all work notifications for 48 hours.

Weekend Affirmations

  • “My rest is productive.”
  • “I do not need to earn stillness.”
  • “I can be powerful and pause.”
  • “I do not exist to be useful—I exist to be whole.”

Final Thought

Rest is not a reward. It’s a requirement—especially when you’re navigating workplace chaos. This weekend, put your SHIELD down and let yourself breathe.

Need help powering down?  Let's chat: https://calendly.com/theshieldsystem/welcome-call

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

5 Things You Can Do Now to Stay Sane in a Toxic Workplace

  If you’re stuck in a toxic workplace, first—let me say this: You are not crazy, and you are not alone. The gaslighting, the drama, the constant stress—it’s exhausting. And while you might not be able to change the workplace culture overnight, you can take steps to protect your sanity and well-being. Here are five things you can start doing right now to help you stay strong, centered, and in control when everything around you feels like a mess. 1. Detach Emotionally—But Stay Sharp One of the biggest energy drains in a toxic workplace is getting emotionally pulled into the chaos. Whether it’s a manipulative boss, a backstabbing coworker, or an overall negative culture, you don’t have to internalize their dysfunction. How? Start seeing your job as a transactional relationship. You do the job for which you were hired, and they give you a paycheck—it’s not your identity. Stay sharp, do your job and at the end of the day, go home and mentally clock out.   Leave work at ...
Read more

📉 The PIP Trap: When Performance Improvement Plans Are a Prelude to Termination

How to Spot the Setup and Exit Strategically Before They Show You the Door The PIP Illusion Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) are often presented as tools to help employees enhance their performance. However, in many cases, they serve as a formal step towards termination rather than genuine development. Understanding the true intent behind a PIP is crucial for your career trajectory. Recognizing the Red Flags Be alert to these signs that a PIP may be a pretext for termination: Vague Objectives: Goals are ambiguous or unattainable. Lack of Support: No resources or guidance provided to meet expectations. Sudden Implementation: PIP follows closely after a complaint or disagreement. These indicators suggest the PIP is more about documentation for dismissal than improvement. Disengage and Redirect When faced with a questionable PIP: Document Everything: Keep records of communications and meetings. Seek Clarification: Ask for...
Read more

🤥Fake Inclusion: When DEI is Just a PowerPoint 🤥

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) are more than buzzwords—they’re meant to be values in action. But in too many workplaces, DEI has become a box to check, a line in a mission statement, or worse—a colorful PowerPoint with no follow-through. This isn’t real inclusion. It’s performative, or “fake”, inclusion. And it’s doing more harm than leaders realize. What Is Performative Inclusion? Performative inclusion, fake inclusion, happens when a workplace claims to value diversity, but doesn’t back it up with consistent behavior, policies, or accountability. It’s the difference between what's said in public—and what happens behind closed doors. It’s when leadership hosts a DEI month panel, but stays silent when employees face discrimination. It’s when a “diverse” photo is on the company website, but promotion data tells a different story. It’s when harm is minimized in the name of “keeping the peace.” Signs You’re Experiencing It: 🚩 Grand DEI statements—followed by...
Read more