Hey friend – last week I hit the pause button way harder than I meant to. What was supposed to be a mini-break to clear my head turned into a full-on writing hibernation thanks to the world's nastiest head cold. 🤧

Turns out, a stuffy nose and pounding head don't exactly spark my most creative thoughts. I tried to force it, I really did. But staring at a blank screen? It was about as motivating as watching paint dry.

The funny thing is, as annoying as it was to feel so awful, a forced pause taught me a thing or two. Who knew a head cold could offer such clear lessons?

Lesson 1: Sometimes your body knows best. As a work-from-home freelancer I often struggle to fully unplug. That little voice shouting, "You should be writing!" can be darn persistent. This time, my body won the argument, and it forced me to truly rest.

Lesson 2: Pushing through is not always the answer. I am not ashamed to admit it, but I'm my own worst critic. I can be tough on myself when I don't think I'm producing enough. But guess what? Sick-me couldn't give a darn about word counts, and it turns out, the world didn't come crashing down with a week’s less content.

Lesson 3: Sometimes absence really does make the heart grow fonder. Cheesy, I know! But being forced away from writing made me remember how much I love it (again). I'm back with a sense of joy that had frankly started to fade a bit.

So, yeah, my "mini-break" turned out to be a bit bigger than planned. But hey, at least it was a productive cold, right? And with all this newfound clarity, I think I'll grab a steaming mug of tea and get back to that keyboard.

And hey let me know – have you ever experienced a pause that brought unexpected benefits? I bet those stories could be just as inspiring as they are amusing!

Hang in there and hang on! Life’s a fun journey full of surprising lessons. 🙂